Time in France


uses Central European Time and Central European Summer Time. Daylight saving time is observed in Metropolitan France from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. With its overseas territories, France uses 12 different time zones, more than any other country in the world.

Notation

Overseas territories

The overseas territories of France use different time zones.
NameCapitalStatusLocationTime zone
French GuianaCayenneOverseas department / regionSouth America
French PolynesiaPapeeteOverseas collectivitySouth Pacific Ocean,,
GuadeloupeBasse-TerreOverseas department / regionAntilles
MartiniqueFort-de-FranceOverseas department / regionAntilles
MayotteMamoudzouOverseas department / regionAfrica
New CaledoniaNouméaSui generis collectivitySouth Pacific Ocean
RéunionSaint-DenisOverseas department / regionAfrica
Saint BarthélemyGustaviaOverseas collectivityAntilles
Saint MartinMarigotOverseas collectivityAntilles
Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint-PierreOverseas collectivitySoutheast of Canada
Wallis and FutunaMata-UtuOverseas collectivitySouth Pacific Ocean
French Southern and Antarctic LandsPort-aux-FrançaisOverseas territoryIndian Ocean, Antarctica Continent,,
Clipperton–French state private propertyWest of Mexico

History

Before 1891, each town and city in Metropolitan France had its own time based on local solar time. In 1891, to avoid complications with railway timetables, time was unified in Metropolitan France and based on the solar time of Paris. In detail, the railway companies used a unified time which lagged behind Paris solar time by 5 minutes, for the benefit of non-punctual travellers. In 1911, Metropolitan France adopted GMT+0 as its official time, and used it until 1940.
In the summer of 1940, the German military authorities switched the occupied northern part of Metropolitan France to GMT+2, while the non-occupied southern part of Metropolitan France remained at GMT+1. The Vichy authorities kept GMT+1 during the winter of 1940–1941 and adopted GMT+2 in May 1941 in order to unify the railway timetables between occupied and non-occupied Metropolitan France. In 1942, 1943, and 1944 the whole of Metropolitan France thus used GMT+2 during the summer, and GMT+1 during the winter.
At the Liberation of France in the summer of 1944, Metropolitan France kept GMT+2 as it was the time then used by the Allies. In the winter of 1944–1945, Metropolitan France switched to GMT+1, same as in the United Kingdom, and switched again to GMT+2 in April 1945 like its British ally. In September 1945, Metropolitan France returned to GMT+1, which the British had already done in July 1945. Metropolitan France was officially scheduled to return to GMT+0 on November 18, 1945, but the French government canceled the decision on November 5, 1945, and GMT+1 has since then remained the official time of Metropolitan France.
In 1976, daylight saving time was reintroduced in Metropolitan France for the first time since WW2 because of the oil crisis, and since 1976 Metropolitan France has thus been at GMT+1 during the winter and GMT+2 during the summer. In 1996, daylight saving time was harmonized throughout the European Union by Directive 2000/84/EC, which moved the end of DST to the last Sunday in October.
A proposal to repeal this directive and require that member states observe their own choice of time year-round from 2021 is going through the legislative process as of 2019. A non-binding public consultation showed that approximately 59% of respondents would prefer France to apply year-round summer time, with 37% in favour of year-round winter time and 4% expressing no preference.
Since GMT is Metropolitan France's "natural" time zone, its use of in winter can be seen as a form of daylight saving time in winter, while Central European Summer Time can be seen as a form of "double summer time."