Europe · Western Europe · Sovereign state
Current time in France
A single time zone at UTC+02:00. Currently observing daylight saving time.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
About France's time
A single time zone.
Metropolitan France operates on a single time zone—Central European Time (UTC+01:00)—and moves to Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00) from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.
Next clock change
2026 Sunday · clocks fall back
Clocks fall back by one hour · next week.
Daylight saving schedule
Major cities
Cities of France.
Territories & dependencies
The Republic, around the world.
History
How France keeps time.
France used Greenwich-based time from 1911 until June 1940, when the German occupation put it on German time. After the war France kept Central European Time (UTC+01:00) instead of returning to GMT. It reintroduced daylight saving time in 1976 and now follows the EU schedule, switching to Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00) from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.
Did you know?
Things about France's time.
While geographically France would more naturally fit in the UTC+00:00 zone, political and economic ties with Central Europe have kept it on CET/CEST. Additionally, France's overseas territories span from UTC−10:00 to UTC+12:00, giving it the most time zones of any country, though only mainland France (and Corsica) uses Central European Time.
Convert
France to the world's clocks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about France's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- Does France observe daylight saving time?
- Yes, like most EU countries, Metropolitan France switches to Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00) in summer and returns to Central European Time (UTC+01:00) in winter, following EU-wide daylight saving rules.
- Why is France in the Central European Time Zone?
- Though geographically aligned with the UK and Portugal, France adopted Central European Time during WWII under German occupation and never reversed it post-war, maintaining alignment with neighboring countries to the east.
- What time does daylight saving time begin and end in France?
- Clocks go forward by one hour on the last Sunday in March and go back on the last Sunday in October, in line with EU regulations.
- Are all French territories in the same time zone?
- No—this page covers Metropolitan France. Overseas territories like Réunion (UTC+04:00), Martinique (UTC−04:00), and French Guiana (UTC−03:00) have their own distinct time zones.
- When is Paris in UTC+01:00 vs UTC+02:00?
- Paris is on UTC+01:00 (CET) from late October to late March, and switches to UTC+02:00 (CEST) during summer months.
Source: IANA tzdb2026d · Reviewed
Free · Developer API
This country, as JSON.
Its default time zone, zone and city counts and DST summary, from one endpoint.
Also in the API: time zones by coordinates, conversions that flag daylight saving gaps, and abbreviations decoded.
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