Day 3126 (Monday) 29th December 2025

It was another lovely sunny day and Huw had to go to work on the villa. There was some heat in the sun but it’s pretty cold out of it.

As usual on a Monday here’s What's happening this week in France. (The Local, France)

New Year's Eve in France means fireworks. Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP

From new laws to firework displays, here's what is happening in France the week that the calendar flips over to 2026.

Monday

Bank transfers restart - the combination of European Central Bank rules and Christmas falling on a Thursday this year meant a four-day period in which bank transfers (with the exception of 'instant' transfers) did not go through. Classic bank transfers that were made on or after December 25th will be processed on Monday, December 29th.

This pattern will also be followed in some businesses, who have taken the opportunity to 'faire le pont' and give staff a four-day break over Christmas and the weekend, re-opening on Monday.

Farmer protests? - some of the protesting farmers were determined to spend Christmas on the barricades, especially the 'ultras' of the A64 motorway in south-west France, but others decided to go home for Christmas. It's not clear whether they will resume their roadblocking activities this week.

Wednesday

Le reveillon - New Year's Eve in France is usually marked with a celebration, often involving foie gras and Champagne. Many towns have public events, concerts and/or fireworks. This year the city of Paris has cancelled its concert on the Champs-Elysées due to crowd-control fears, but the fireworks display will take place as usual.

A warning for motorists, in some parts of France locals celebrate by setting cars on fire.

Thursday

Public holiday - New Year's Day is a jour ferié in France, so expect many businesses to be closed. Public transport continues to run, however. Because this year January 1st falls on a Thursday, some people might take the opportunity to 'bridge' the holiday and take Friday off as well. 

New laws - January 1st also marks the day when a bunch of new laws come into effect, from changes to residency card and French citizenship rules to waste laws and vehicle tests.

New budget (kind of) - likewise January 1st marks the day that France shifts over to its new spending plan. This year, the French parliament only managed to get half of the 2026 budget passed before the deadline. That means that social security and healthcare spending will be revised on January 1st, leading to new rules on certain things plus an adjustment for inflation of things like pensions, benefits and the minimum wage.

When it comes to state spending and investment, however, the 2025 rolls over while MPs continue discussions. This means that some government funded programmes, such as the Ma Prime Renov grants, will be frozen.

14 Essential Tips About The French Kiss by Camille Chevalier

So many French kisses… un baiser (generic), un patin (French kiss), un smack (peck) 

Before we dive into the French kissing vocabulary, let me tell you how to avoid a super embarrassing French mistake.

The verb to kiss in French is “embrasser”.

The NOUN a kiss in French is “un baiser”.

Warning: don’t use the noun as a verb … 

1 – How to Say “a Kiss” in French?

We have several ways to translate a kiss in French – because there are different kind of kisses.

Un baiser = general for a kiss

Un bisou = colloquial word for a kiss
Both un baiser/un bisou could be romantic (sur la bouche – on the mouth) or friendly (sur la joue – on the cheek).

Une bise = colloquial for a kiss on the cheek (to say hi or goodbye)

2 – How to Say “to Kiss” in French?

Now let’s see how to say the verb, the action of kissing in French.

Embrasser (verb) = to kiss

S’embrasser (reflexive verb) = to kiss each other

Watch out baiser (verb) = used to be “to kiss”, but has switched meaning through time. Now it means to f..k

Rouler un patin = slang = to kiss with the tongue

Faire un smack = slang = to give a light kiss (usually on the mouth) to someone. So if you see in a French comic book “smack, smack” it means “kisses”, not smacking someone on the face.

Careful not to mistake the very common noun “un baiser” with the vulgar verb “baiser”.

The correct verb to use for “to kiss” is “embrasser”. If you said to someone “je vous baise”, you’d either get a huge laugh, a very embarrassed stare or… get punched in the face.

To translate I give you a kiss, I kiss you in French, say: “je t’embrasse” or “je vous embrasse”. Don’t use “baiser” as a verb.

3 – How to Say “A French kiss” in French?

That sounds a bit redundant, but few students actually know how to say to French kiss, or a French kiss in French.

We have several ways of translating a French kiss, a tongue kiss in French.

Un patin

Une pelle

Une galoche

Un palot

They are all more or less slang. If you wanted to be proper, you’d say “embrasser avec la langue”… only a child would say that though.

4 – How to say “French Kissing” in French?

To translate the verb, to French kiss or French kissing in French we also have several options. We usually use the verb “rouler” – to roll.

Rouler un patin / une pelle / un palot

Galocher

Frencher

Now let’s move to practical info about kissing in France.

5 – How Many Kisses in France?

This is complicated. Most of the time, the French kiss twice, once on each cheek. But it may be up to four times depending on the region.

6 – In France, Kiss NEVER Hug

If hugging is a common greeting in the States among friends and family, French people almost never hug.

When I arrived for the first time in the States, it was so awkward to me that it actually took me about six years to feel comfortable enough to truly hug my friends.

Actually, we don’t have a proper word for “a hug” – you can say “une étreinte” but it’s kind of an old-fashioned word that describes the action of holding someone in your arm.

French men often give each other a sort of pat in the back kind of hug gesture. But it’s very short and the upper body doesn’t really touch.

If you haven’t seen someone in a long time, or are really moved for some reason, you could possibly hold him/her in your arms quickly, but it would be rare and still, it would not be exactly the same body position as an American hug.

So, in other words, no French hug comes close to the big fat hug you’d give to a good friend in the US.

7 – Kiss or Handshake in France?

Adult Frenchmen mostly shake hands: a firm, strong shake, looking into the eyes. If you are really happy to see the person, you may cover your handshake with your other hand, or put one hand on their shoulder.

Women shake hands in a professional situation, or sometimes if they don’t know each other at all (and are older), but move on to kissing very quickly, even at work among colleagues — with both genders.

In any case, you’ll receive a handshake or a kiss. People don’t just say “bonjour” without doing one or the other to go with it.

So you won’t kiss or shake hands at a cash register or in a boutique, but you will shake hands if you are engaging in a relationship with someone. For example, we shake hands with contractors we hire or even interview.

This is also a question of social class, and age. The higher up in social class, the less kissing and more handshaking. In more relaxed social classes or with younger crowds, men often kiss each other. Always on the cheeks, usually twice. They may even hug a bit, but more of a “tap on the back” kind of motion, never a big American hug.

The gesture may evolve from a handshake to a kiss: you may arrive at a party and shake hands, then socialise, make friends, and get kissed when you leave.

8 – How To Kiss in France?

The kiss is more of an air kiss, but the cheeks do touch, unlike the American air kiss.