Day 3161 (Monday) 2nd February 2026

This is Menton

and this is Nice.

It was grey and horrible again today, it’s a good job we went out for lunch yesterday. As usual on a Monday here’s What’s happening in France this week, the Local France.

France's fans celebrate during the 2025 Six Nations international rugby union match between Ireland and France at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. France won the game 42-27. (Photo by PAUL FAITH / AFP)

Pancake day, important dates for voters, the end of the winter sales, the start of the 2026 Six Nations and the Winter Olympics, and the first wave of the winter holidays.

Monday

Pancake Day — It’s Chandeleur — a day the French get superstitious, and gorge on pancakes… 

Tuesday

Sales — The winter sales period in France comes to an end. The next official sales period is in the summer. 

Wednesday

Elections — If you are eligible to vote in France’s municipal elections next month, you have until Wednesday to register to vote online. You can register at your local town hall until Friday, February 6th.

Thursday 

Sport — The 2026 Six Nations kicks off, on a Thursday for the first time ever, as France host Ireland at Stade de France. Italy v Scotland and England v Wales are both on Saturday. The reason for the unusual match scheduling is so French broadcaster France Televisions avoids a clash with the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. 

Friday

Cycling — Candidates to succeed Anne Hidalgo as mayor of Paris will discuss their plans for the future of cycling in the city.

Schools — Pupils at schools in Zone A (Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Poitiers) break up for the first of the two-week winter holidays at the end of classes, prompting the first wave of getaways to ski resorts.

Children in Zone B (Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg) have one more week of school to go; while those in Zone C (Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, Versailles) remain at school until the end of the day on February 21st.

Sport — As already mentioned, it’s the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, just over the Alpine border in northern Italy. Fans in France can watch the snow and ice sports extravaganza on France Télévisions.

Saturday 

Refunds — The procedure for resolving disputes with airlines changes. In the event of a cancellation, delay, or denied boarding, prior mediation will be mandatory before any legal action can be taken. In the event of a dispute, passengers must contact the tourism and travel mediator.

Here we have some more facts about La Chandeleur

La Chandeleur: The day the French get really superstitious... and eat crêpes

It's the French pancake day. Photos: AFP

In France, Monday, February 2nd means eating lots of crêpes and really hoping it doesn't rain.

On Monday, February 2nd, the French will dig out their non-stick frying pans to celebrate La Chandeleur.

I’ve never heard of it before. What exactly is La Chandeleur?

It's a religious holiday in France that’s been around since Roman times. Nowadays it mainly sees people eat a lot of crêpes, light candles and become very superstitious.

Why February 2nd?

The date actually marks when Jesus was presented at the temple in Jerusalem.

But before becoming a Christian holiday, Chandeleur stemmed from several pagan traditions celebrating the fertility of the earth and the beginning of the end of winter.

It's said that in the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I started the Festival des Chandelles on this date, a candlelit procession through the streets of Rome that culminated in placing the blessed candles in the churches. Gelasius linked this custom to crêpes by handing out galettes (a type of savoury crêpe) to poor pilgrims who arrived in Rome that day.

And how about the Chandeleur superstitions?

Well, in France’s Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region (in eastern France), a proverb says that if someone can carry a Chandeleur candle all the way home from church without it going out, then that person will "certainly stay alive this year".

A bit of a morbid superstition for a candle, you might think, but you've obviously not heard what the folks down in the Haute-Garonne département in the south west thought.
There, they said that if a candle's wax only dripped on one side of the candle during a religious procession, it announced the death of a loved-one during the year.
They also said that "bewitched" people could only be cured by a soothsayer using a blessed altar candle on the day of the Chandeleur. He would then draw various symbols on the ground, then mix soil from a graveyard with holy water, only to douse the floor with it together with a mix of poppy, fennel, and wild mustard.

Soothsaying is less popular than once it was.

I’ll stick to eating crêpes then.

There’s plenty of tradition surrounding the crêpe-making too, so if you want to do it the French way, listen up.

Firstly, it's traditional to have them in the evening. And don't forget the superstitions

It's recommended to toss the crêpe in the pan with your right hand while holding a piece of gold in your left - for good luck of course.

Another old tradition also saw people putting the first crêpe in a drawer or on top of a wardrobe to attract prosperity for the coming year.

Are we done with superstitions?

Afraid not, we haven't mentioned the weather yet - a crucial part of the day.

Tradition says that a rainy day means another 40 days of rain. Indeed, you might hear the French say "Quand il pleut pour la Chandeleur, il pleut pendant quarante jours".

Other sayings suggest that a sunny day will bring more winter and misfortune, a clear day means winter is behind us, and a cloudy day means another 40 days of winter.

These three all sound better in French, where they rhyme. Here they are, in the same order:

"Soleil de la Chandeleur, annonce hiver et malheur"

"Quand la Chandeleur est claire, l'hiver est par derriere" 

"Chandeleur couverte, quarante jours de perte".

This was Badger this afternoon – I wanted to wear that cardigan.