Festivals
We don’t publish dates: they change every year. For each signature event, the usual month and a link to the official site.
Signature festivals
January
- Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer Gérardmer
Horror and fantasy cinema in a snowy Vosges lake town, usually in the last week of January. Gérardmer took up the torch in 1994 from the fantasy film festival of Avoriaz; screenings, juries and late-night marathons fill the town’s cinemas and halls. - La Folle Journée de Nantes Nantes
Five days of classical music at the end of January, sometimes running into the first days of February: hundreds of short concerts, each about an hour, around one theme or composer. Created in 1995, it was designed to bring newcomers to classical music.
February
- Fête du Citron Menton
Menton’s carnival-time festival, held in February, builds giant sculptures and parade floats out of tonnes of lemons and oranges. It grew out of a citrus show for hotel guests in 1928 and took the name Fête du Citron in 1934. - Carnaval de Granville Granville
Five days of floats, masks and satire around Mardi Gras in a Normandy fishing port, a tradition rooted in the send-off for cod fishermen leaving for Newfoundland. Its first organised edition was in 1875. As it follows Mardi Gras, it usually falls in February but some years in early March.
March
- Séries Mania Lille
A festival devoted entirely to television series, with world premieres, a competition and screenings open to the public, held in Lille every March. It began in Paris in 2010 and moved to Lille in 2018. - Festival international de films de femmes de Créteil Créteil
One of the oldest festivals in the world devoted to films directed by women, founded in 1979 and based at the Maison des Arts in Créteil, just south-east of Paris. It usually takes place in March, occasionally running into early April.
April
- Le Printemps de Bourges Bourges
France’s great spring music festival, first held in April 1977, fills the medieval city of Bourges with French song, rock, rap and electronic music for about a week. Its talent scheme has launched many French artists. - Festival Mythos Rennes
A Rennes festival of the spoken word in all its forms, storytelling, theatre, slam and song, held every April in about twenty venues across the Rennes area. Sources give its founding as 1996 or 1997.
May
- Festival de Cannes Cannes
The world’s best-known film festival, held every May on the Croisette since its first edition in the autumn of 1946. Most screenings are for accredited professionals, but the town itself, the red carpet and the beach screenings are part of the spectacle. - Fête de la transhumance en Aubrac Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac
Around Saint Urban’s day (25 May), Aubrac cattle, decked with flowers and bells, walk up from the Lot valley to their summer pastures, and the hamlet of Aubrac celebrates with music, markets and aligot. The festival was launched in 1981.
June
- Festival international du film d’animation d’Annecy Annecy
One of the world’s leading animation festivals, created in 1960 and held every June beside Lake Annecy. Biennial at first, it became annual in 1997; open-air screenings on the lakeside lawn make for memorable summer evenings. - 24 Heures du Mans Le Mans
The world’s most famous endurance motor race, run for 24 hours non-stop on a circuit partly made of public roads south of Le Mans. The first race was held in May 1923; it now usually takes place in June, with a week of events around it.
July
- Festival d’Avignon Avignon
France’s great theatre festival, founded by Jean Vilar in 1947, takes over Avignon every July, with the courtyard of the Papal Palace as its main stage. Alongside it, the independent ‘Off’ fills hundreds of small venues across the city. - Jazz in Marciac Marciac
Since 1978 a village of the Gers has hosted one of Europe’s leading jazz festivals: big names under a marquee, more concerts on the arcaded square. It runs for about three weeks from late July into the first days of August, so most of it falls in July.
August
- Festival interceltique de Lorient Lorient
For ten days in the first half of August, Lorient becomes the capital of the Celtic world: pipe bands, dancers and musicians from Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Galicia and beyond. It grew from a bagpipe-band contest first held in 1971. - Rock en Seine Saint-Cloud
A large rock and pop festival held at the end of August in the Domaine national de Saint-Cloud, the former royal park laid out by Le Nôtre just west of Paris. The first edition, in 2003, lasted one day.
September
- Braderie de Lille Lille
On the weekend of the first Sunday in September, Lille turns into what is often called Europe’s largest flea market, running day and night, fuelled by mussels and chips. It descends from a fair first recorded in 1127. - Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville Deauville
Since 1975 the Normandy seaside resort has spent ten days each September celebrating American cinema, from studio premieres to independent films in competition, with the stars’ names painted on beach cabins along the boardwalk.
October
- Les Rendez-vous de l’histoire Blois
For five days each October, historians, teachers, writers and the curious meet in Blois for lectures, debates, films and a large book fair around a different theme every year. The festival was founded in 1998. - Fête du piment d’Espelette Espelette
On the last weekend of October, the Basque village whose house fronts are hung with drying red peppers celebrates the harvest with a mass, a procession of the pepper brotherhood, music and a market. It dates from the late 1960s; sources give 1967 or 1968.
November
- Vente des vins des Hospices de Beaune Beaune
The world’s best-known charity wine auction, held on the third Sunday of November since 1859, sells wines from the vineyards of Beaune’s old hospital. The whole weekend becomes a wine festival, with tastings and celebrations in the streets. - Foire du livre de Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde
One of France’s biggest literary gatherings, usually on the first weekend of November: hundreds of authors sign books and talk to readers in the market town of Brive. First held in 1973, it was relaunched on a larger scale in 1982.
December
- Fête des Lumières Lyon
For four nights around 8 December, Lyon’s façades, squares and hills are turned into light installations, while many residents still put candles in their windows. The tradition began in 1852 with the inauguration of the Virgin’s statue on Fourvière; the modern festival dates from 1999. - Christkindelsmärik (marché de Noël de Strasbourg) Strasbourg
Strasbourg’s Christmas market, held since 1570 and long the only one in France, fills the squares around the cathedral with wooden chalets, mulled wine and bredele biscuits. It usually opens in late November and closes on 24 December, so most of it falls in December.
Check dates on the official site.
The national list
France’s Ministry of Culture mapped 6824 festivals outside Paris (those held in 2019 with at least two editions, over more than one day, with at least five shows). It gives a period, not dates: pre-season (1 Jan – 20 Jun), season (21 Jun – 5 Sep), after-season (6 Sep – 31 Dec).
| Region | 1 Jan – 20 Jun | 21 Jun – 5 Sep | 6 Sep – 31 Dec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 327 | 342 | 267 | 947 |
| Burgundy–Franche-Comté | 124 | 200 | 118 | 442 |
| Brittany | 239 | 191 | 138 | 590 |
| Centre–Val de Loire | 112 | 151 | 94 | 357 |
| Corsica | 14 | 31 | 24 | 69 |
| Grand Est | 212 | 123 | 126 | 467 |
| Hauts-de-France | 142 | 84 | 112 | 338 |
| Île-de-France (beyond Paris) | 159 | 78 | 114 | 357 |
| Normandy | 95 | 104 | 68 | 267 |
| Nouvelle-Aquitaine | 269 | 369 | 190 | 828 |
| Occitanie | 236 | 347 | 234 | 900 |
| Pays de la Loire | 120 | 123 | 89 | 332 |
| Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur | 267 | 423 | 226 | 930 |
Source: Ministère de la Culture, “Liste des festivals en France” (Licence Ouverte 2.0). E-mail addresses in the file are not republished.