Paid leave request (France)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in French
The PDF you download is in French — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
A paid-leave request from an employee to the employer in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: first and last day, the number of days counted in jours ouvrables or jours ouvrés, the date of return, and room for the employer's signed agreement. Leave is earned at two and a half jours ouvrables per month worked (article L. 3141-3 of the French Labour Code); the employer sets the order in which staff take it. An e-mail often does; the letter keeps a written record of the agreement. In French.
- Made for use in France
- Last updated October 13, 2026
When to use this document
- You want to ask your employer in France for paid holiday on specific dates.
- Your manager agreed to your holiday verbally and you want the agreement in writing.
- You are planning a summer holiday and need your employer’s signed agreement before booking.
- You want a clear leave request showing your first and last day off and the day you return.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Employee
- Employee's address
- Employer
- Employer's postal address (department if any, street, postcode and town)
- City
- Date
- Period from
- Period to
- Number of leave days requested
- How leave days are counted: Monday to Saturday, or days worked only
- Position
- Date of return to work
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- How many days of paid leave does an employee earn in France?
- Two and a half jours ouvrables per month actually worked, that is thirty jours ouvrables (five weeks) a year, or twenty-five jours ouvrés where the company counts that way (article L. 3141-3 of the Labour Code). Since law no. 2024-364 of 22 April 2024, sick leave not caused by work also earns two jours ouvrables a month, up to twenty-four a year, and leave that sickness prevented you from taking can be carried over for fifteen months from when the employer informs you.
- Can a French employer refuse or move paid leave?
- Yes, within limits the law sets: the employer fixes the leave period, which always includes 1 May to 31 October, and the order in which staff take leave, under the collective agreement or, failing one, after consulting the works council (CSE). Each employee is told the order at least one month ahead. Save in exceptional circumstances, the dates cannot be changed less than a month before departure (article L. 3141-16 of the Labour Code). Do not go on leave without the employer's agreement.
- Jours ouvrables or jours ouvrés: how is leave counted in France?
- Jours ouvrables are every day of the week except Sunday and public holidays taken off: a week of leave counts as six. Jours ouvrés are the days the company normally works, usually Monday to Friday: a week counts as five. The document lets you choose your company's unit. In Alsace-Moselle, 26 December and, in municipalities with a Protestant church or a shared church, Good Friday are also public holidays (article L. 3134-13 of the Labour Code).
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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