How Many Hours Do French Kids Go to School?

I’ll never forget the first time I saw my cousin Thomas' school schedule when I visited him in Lyon. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and we were playing video games when I suddenly realized something.

— “Wait… why aren’t you in school?” I asked.

He grinned.
— “Dude, it’s Wednesday. We only have school in the morning.”

That blew my mind. Growing up outside France, I had always imagined French schools as these super strict institutions, with kids in uniforms spending endless hours studying philosophy and writing essays about existentialism. Instead, here was Thomas, in the middle of the week, chilling at home while I was used to being stuck in class until late afternoon.

That moment sent me down a rabbit hole of trying to understand how the French school system actually works. Spoiler: it’s way more complex than just "less school on Wednesdays."

How Many Hours Do French Students Spend at School?

If you compare France to other countries, the first thing you’ll notice is that French kids have long school days but fewer actual days in class. The average French school day runs from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, with a whopping two-hour lunch break in many schools. But here’s where it gets tricky:

• Primary school (école élémentaire): Around 24 hours per week (4-day or 4.5-day weeks)
• Middle school (collège): Between 26 and 28 hours per week
• High school (lycée): Between 28 and 35 hours per week, depending on the program

Compare that to countries like Finland, where kids spend just 20 hours per week in class, or the U.S., where school usually wraps up around 3 PM. You start realizing that French students put in some serious hours.

But those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Let’s talk about what it feels like to be a student in France.

The Myth of the “French Siesta”

When I told my American friends about the two-hour lunch break, they thought I was joking.

— “So what, French kids take a nap like kindergarteners?”

Not exactly. Lunch in France is a big deal. Many schools have full three-course meals in the cantine, and kids actually sit down to eat properly, instead of scarfing down a sandwich in 10 minutes.

But this long break means that the school day stretches later than in other countries. Some students don’t finish until 5:30 or even 6 PM, especially in high school. So while they might have Wednesdays off (at least in primary school), they make up for it with those marathon days.

Homework and the Never-Ending Workload

Now, here’s where things get spicy. French students may have fewer school days, but they get tons of homework.

My friend Sophie, who went through the French lycée system, once told me:
— “It’s not the hours in class that kill you, it’s the hours at home.”

Even in primary school, kids get regular assignments, and by the time they hit lycée, it’s common to spend two to three hours per night on homework. This is especially brutal for students in Terminale (senior year), who prepare for the famous Baccalauréat (le Bac), the ultimate high school exam that determines their future.

Fun fact: France actually tried to ban homework in 2012 for primary school kids, arguing that it increased inequality. But, as you can guess, the rule didn’t really stick. Teachers found ways to get around it, and parents often gave their kids extra work anyway.

Do French Kids Really Get Wednesdays Off?

Ah, the legendary half-day Wednesdays. This is one of those things that sounds amazing until you experience the trade-offs.

For years, French primary school students had Wednesdays off entirely. Then in 2013, the government decided to add Wednesday mornings back to the schedule to lighten the load on other days. Some towns still stick to the old system, meaning some kids have full Wednesdays off, while others have half-days.

At first, Thomas loved his free Wednesdays. But as he got older, he started resenting them.

— “It’s great when you’re a kid,” he admitted. “But later, they just cram more hours into the other days. By Friday, you’re dead.”

That’s the trade-off: longer days in exchange for a mid-week breather. It works great for younger kids, but by middle school, most students find it exhausting.

Is the French School System Too Intense?

There’s a long-running debate in France about whether students spend too many hours in school. A 2015 OECD study found that French students report higher levels of stress than most of their European neighbors. Between the long days, heavy homework loads, and the pressure of major exams like the Bac, burnout is real.

On the other hand, some argue that French schools prepare students better for real-world challenges. After all, France produces some of the world’s best mathematicians, engineers, and writers. There’s a strong academic tradition, and while the system is demanding, it pushes students to develop critical thinking skills early on.

Still, some parents and educators are pushing for shorter school days and a less rigid approach to learning—but in a country where tradition holds strong, change is slow.

So, How Many Hours Do French Kids REALLY Go to School?

It depends on how you look at it. If you count just classroom hours, French students aren’t in school significantly more than other countries. But factor in long school days, homework, and studying? They probably spend way more total hours on education than most of their European neighbors.

So the next time you hear someone say, “French kids have it easy with their long lunches and Wednesdays off,” remind them that many of those same kids are still doing homework at 10 PM.

At the end of the day, it’s a system full of contradictions—structured yet chaotic, rigid yet flexible. Just like France itself.

What do you think? Should school days be shorter, or is the French model actually a good thing? Let’s grab a drink and debate—French style.

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