What Are The Public Holidays in French Guiana in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in French Guiana (2026)

French Guiana follows the French public holiday calendar, with a few important local observances. Use this 2026 holiday list to plan staffing, leave approvals, and payroll for your team in the territory.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, under French labour law as applied in French Guiana, employees are generally entitled to a paid day off on statutory public holidays that fall on a day they would normally work, with Labour Day (1 May) enjoying the strongest protection. For the other public holidays, collective bargaining agreements, company policies, and local practice determine whether your company must close or can operate with normal or reduced staffing, but where the day is treated as a day off, it should be paid as if worked.

When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it is usually observed on that Sunday rather than moved to the Monday, unless a collective agreement or internal policy grants a substitute rest day. Part‑time employees are typically entitled to pay for public holidays that fall on their contracted working days, on a pro‑rata basis aligned with their usual schedule.

If employees are required to work on a public holiday, many sectoral agreements in France and its overseas departments provide for compensatory rest and/or premium pay. You should always check the applicable collective bargaining agreement for your French Guiana workforce to confirm whether work on a holiday must be compensated at a higher rate or with additional time off.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Failure to respect public holiday rules in French Guiana can expose your company to the same types of sanctions that apply in mainland France. The Labour Inspectorate (Inspection du travail) can investigate complaints, review time‑and‑attendance and payroll records, and order corrective measures where employees were not granted the paid public holidays or compensatory rest they were entitled to.

Non‑compliance can lead to administrative fines, back‑pay for unpaid public holidays, and, in more serious or repeated cases, criminal fines for the company and potentially its legal representatives. Courts can also award damages to employees for harm suffered, including where an employer systematically refuses to apply public holiday rules or ignores the provisions of a binding collective agreement.

Common mistakes include treating all public holidays as optional, failing to pay employees their normal wage for a holiday that falls on a scheduled workday, not applying enhanced terms in the relevant collective agreement, and misclassifying workers to avoid granting paid holidays. Keeping clear records and aligning your internal policies with French law and local agreements is essential.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

In French Guiana, overtime rules follow the French Labour Code. Public holidays that are treated as paid days off do not count as hours worked when calculating weekly overtime thresholds, unless an employee actually works on the holiday. If an employee works on a public holiday, those hours are counted as working time and may trigger overtime once weekly limits are exceeded.

Where a collective agreement grants premium pay for work on public holidays, that premium is usually applied on top of any statutory overtime uplift. For example, an employee might receive a higher hourly rate for hours worked on the holiday itself, plus the standard French overtime premium for hours beyond the normal weekly limit. Because sectoral and company‑level agreements can be more generous than the Labour Code, you should review the specific rules that apply to your employees in French Guiana and ensure your payroll system is configured to handle both holiday premiums and overtime correctly.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Managing public holidays and leave rules in French Guiana doesn’t have to be complex. Playroll keeps you 100% compliant by automatically tracking local holidays, observed days, and pay requirements –  so your team is paid correctly and on time, every time.

Whether you’re hiring your first employee or scaling a growing team, Playroll lets you employ talent without setting up a local entity. We handle compliant contracts, benefits, and payroll in one platform, so you can reduce compliance risk and focus on growing your business while we take care of the heavy-lifting in the background. Book a chat with our team to get started.