Public holidays in Réunion

French Public Holidays Apply in Réunion

As a French overseas department and region, Réunion is covered by the French Labour Code's general list of statutory holidays. These include New Year, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Victory Day, Ascension, Whit Monday, the French National Day, the Assumption, All Saints' Day, Armistice Day and Christmas.[1]

Réunion also has a statutory holiday specific to the island: the commemoration of the abolition of slavery.[2] This additional observance is established in the Labour Code provisions for France's overseas territories and is therefore part of Réunion's legal holiday calendar rather than merely a local cultural festival.

The Abolition of Slavery and Fèt Kaf

Réunion's abolition commemoration marks the proclamation that ended slavery on the island. The prefecture records that the abolition decree reached Réunion through the Republic's commissioner, Joseph Sarda Garriga, who formally proclaimed emancipation after arriving on the island.[3] The statutory holiday commemorates that event without requiring the historical anniversary date to be reproduced in reader-facing guidance.[2]

The observance is widely known as Fèt Kaf and has developed into both a memorial occasion and a celebration of Réunionese culture and freedom. Réunion's official tourism organization describes programmes across the island featuring street activities, processions, traditional song and dance, concerts and kabars, moringue, exhibitions, workshops and events exploring the histories of slavery and maloya.[4]

A Public Holiday Is Not Always a Mandatory Day Off

French law distinguishes between a day being legally designated as a public holiday and an employee necessarily having that day off. For public holidays other than Labour Day, a company or establishment agreement, or failing that a branch agreement, determines which holidays are non-working days. In the absence of an agreement, the employer determines them.[5]

Employees with the qualifying length of service cannot suffer a loss of salary when a public holiday is designated as a non-working day, subject to the categories and conditions set out in the Labour Code.[5] This makes the reference claim that every statutory holiday automatically requires paid leave or compensatory remuneration too broad.

Labour Day Has Special Protection

Labour Day is treated differently from ordinary statutory holidays. The Labour Code expressly makes it a public and non-working holiday.[5] Employees who do not work because of the holiday cannot have their salary reduced under the applicable statutory rules.

Work is permitted on Labour Day in establishments and services that cannot interrupt their activities because of their nature. Employees who work in those circumstances receive their normal pay for the work performed plus an additional indemnity equal to that pay.[5] The special double-payment rule should therefore not be generalized to every other public holiday.

Planning Around Closures and Transport

The original assumption that banks, administrative offices and shops all close on every statutory holiday is too broad. French labour law establishes public holidays and employment rules, but it does not impose one universal opening timetable on every retailer, restaurant, attraction or transport operator.[1][5] Actual service levels depend on the holiday, sector, employer and applicable agreements.