In August, Paris all but shut down, as did much of Europe.
The annual exodus that has Parisians fleeing from the city begins in late July and typically lasts until late August.
Mom-and-pop shops and restaurants close, putting up signs saying they’ll see you in September… doctors stop taking appointments… and the most common farewell you hear this time of year is “Bonne vacances,” knowing you won’t meet again for a few weeks.
The feeling in Paris beginning in late July is that of students at the end of the school year. There’s a languor mixed with a giddiness… everyone is excited, but also tired… worn out by a long year and the wait for summer vacation, which they plan for all year long.
On the streets you see people packing up cars and pulling suitcases to train stations… people saying goodbye to friends they won’t see for a few weeks, all wishing each other well on their respective adventures.
And then we all come back…
My family and I returned from a final summer hurrah in Portugal the day before schools reopened in Paris.
My older daughter has entered her final year of preschool… the baby has (finally) been accepted into creche—meaning for the first time in 15 months, I am no longer a part-time stay-at-home-mom-who-also-works-full-time…
We’re all trying to get back to regular life… and at the same time create a new routine as a fully-fledged four-person household.
Luckily, this time of year in Paris has a feeling of refreshment and renewal.
Springtime in Paris is well acclaimed… but I’d like to make a case for autumn in the City of Light, which, for my money, is just as alluring… perhaps more so.
By the end of August, brown leaves are piling up on some streets whose trees are too eager to hibernate, and the feeling of la rentrée is already taking hold…
September in Paris is a magical time. To misquote Nora Ephron, “Don’t you love Paris in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”
For most of us, September is a special month no matter where we call home… it never ceases to remind us of our childhoods… and our children and grandchildren. We want to go out and buy markers and notebooks, no matter our age.
North America does a none-too-shabby job of advertising back-to-school supply sales. But, in my experience, nowhere on Earth does September the way the French do.
It’s called “La Rentrée” and it makes up the entire period of the last week of August and pretty much all of September.
Rentrer means to re-enter, and the noun refers to the act of going back. You can rentrer in the literal sense—going back to your house or to your office after you’ve left, for example. The noun, la rentrée, though, is most often used to mean to go back to school… but the term has taken on a much larger meaning.
At the end of August, many rentrers are going on… everyone is back home from vacation, back to work, back to school, back to the yearly routine, back to colder weather… back to life.
Everywhere you look are signs advertising something or other for La Rentrée. All parents talk about are the impossibly specific lists of school supplies they’re required to find and where to get such-and-such problem item. Shops put backpacks, books, and art sets in their windows.
There’s a jovial optimism and an energy in the air around this time of year… The French have been on holiday for the majority of the previous month, so everyone is relaxed, fully dosed up on vitamin D, and ready to come back home and take on the end of the year.
In fact, La Rentrée in Paris brings more of a feeling of renewal, rejuvenation, and energy than the actual New Year does in January.
This makes a lot of sense to me.
It’s hard to be energetic and enthusiastic for positive change when it’s cold, dark, and damp out. There are so many months of chill and gloom left after the first of January that it’s hard to stay motivated for any goals you set.
After coming back from summer vacation, though, it’s natural to set out schedules, cut down on the booze, get back to our fitness routines, and probably diet a little after holiday indulgences.
The French leverage this momentum to get their lives back on track for the winter. There’s a lovely attitude of optimization before hibernation. We set ourselves up to have the most successful fall and winter we can have, with a view to the coming spring.
The feeling is infectious. Walking down the street, it’s hard not to get swept up in the excitement and optimism of La Rentrée. You can’t help but smile, put a bounce in your step, and start to think through some new plan you want for yourself.
It helps that the weather in September is usually still warm, sunny, but with that little soupçon of chill in the air that teases the autumn temperatures to come.
Digging out those cozy cashmere sweaters, grabbing the boots I haven’t touched in six months, and planning comforting cold-weather recipes as I browse the new selection of produce—the squash, figs, leeks, cabbages, and chestnuts—that have been replacing the melons, strawberries, asparagus, and stone fruits of last season… these are the things I look forward to this time of year.
Once we settle into our new autumn routines, we’ll hunker down for the winter and await the next injection of cheer and optimism that comes around Christmas and New Year’s…
Meantime, though, we forge ahead, full of enthusiasm for the self-improvement that can be achieved over the next few months.
What go-overseas goals did you set for 2025 that you can make some progress on before the year is out?
Where are you headed in 2026…?
Wherever you celebrate La Rentrée this year, keep your hopes up and your aspirations high.
Bonne route,
Kat Kalashian
Editor, In Focus: Europe
