Time Zones in France

Time Zones Currently Being Used in France

Offset	Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Example City	Current Time
UTC +2	CEST	Central European Summer Time	Paris	Thu, 03:21:29
UTC +5	TFT	French Southern and Antarctic Time	Port-aux-Francais	Thu, 06:21:29

Country With the Most Time Zones

With its 12 standard times, France currently holds the world record for the country with the most time zones, beating even the United States and Russia, which have 11 time zones each.

The main part of the country, France métropolitaine, which lies in central Europe and includes the capital Paris, spans only 1 time zone. The remaining 11 time zones are added by France's dependencies (France d’Outre-Mer). Please see below for a complete list.

When Saint Pierre and Miquelon observes Daylight Saving Time, it even adds a 13th local time to the count.

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Time Zone Not Currently Being Observed in France

Offset	Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Commences
UTC +1	CET	Central European Time	27 Oct 2024

The above time zone is used during other parts of the year. It will become active again after the next clock change as Daylight Saving Time begins or ends.

Only the European part of France and the collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon use Daylight Saving Time (DST).

In the country's main part, Central European Time (CET) is used as standard time, while Central European Summer Time (CEST) is observed when DST is in force.

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Time Zones Being Used in Dependencies of France

Offset	Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Dependency	Type	Current Time
UTC -10	TAHT	Tahiti Time	French Polynesia	Overseas collectivity	Wed, 15:21:29
UTC -9:30	MART	Marquesas Time	French Polynesia	Overseas collectivity	Wed, 15:51:29
UTC -9	GAMT	Gambier Time	French Polynesia	Overseas collectivity	Wed, 16:21:29
UTC -8	EAST	Easter Island Standard Time	Clipperton Island	Overseas territory	Wed, 17:21:29
UTC -4	AST	Atlantic Standard Time	Guadeloupe	Overseas department	Wed, 21:21:29
	AST	Atlantic Standard Time	Martinique	Overseas department	Wed, 21:21:29
	AST	Atlantic Standard Time	Saint Barthélemy	Overseas collectivity	Wed, 21:21:29
	AST	Atlantic Standard Time	Saint Martin	Overseas collectivity	Wed, 21:21:29
UTC -3	GFT	French Guiana Time	French Guiana	Overseas department	Wed, 22:21:29
UTC -2	PMDT	Pierre & Miquelon Daylight Time	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Overseas collectivity	Wed, 23:21:29
UTC +3	EAT	Eastern Africa Time	Mayotte	Overseas department	Thu, 04:21:29
UTC +4	RET	Reunion Time	Réunion (French)	Overseas department	Thu, 05:21:29
UTC +5	TFT	French Southern and Antarctic Time	French Southern Territories	Overseas territory	Thu, 06:21:29
UTC +11	NCT	New Caledonia Time	New Caledonia	Overseas collectivity	Thu, 12:21:29
UTC +12	WFT	Wallis and Futuna Time	Wallis and Futuna	Overseas collectivity	Thu, 13:21:29

Of France's dependencies, only Saint Pierre and Miquelon uses Daylight Saving Time.

Time Zone History of France

In 1884, the international community adopted Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) as the world's time standard. Back then, GMT was based on solar time at the prime meridian that runs through Greenwich, United Kingdom.

However, France continued to use its own standard for several decades. It was based on solar time in Paris, so local time in France was Paris Mean Time (PMT), which was 9 minutes and 11 seconds ahead of GMT. In 1911, France turned its civil time back by precisely that amount to synchronize its clocks with GMT. However, rather than officially adopting GMT as its standard time, the country now proclaimed PMT-0:09:21 as the name of its standard time zone.

In 1978, after having advanced its standard time by 1 hour to Central European Time in 1940, France adopted today's UTC standard.

Should France Use GMT?

Today, most of the European part of France uses a time zone that does not adequately reflect the solar time on its longitude. CET is based on solar time at 15° eastern longitude, which runs along the border between Germany and Poland. CEST, France's Daylight Saving Time, refers to an even less suitable solar time, at 30° longitude, which runs close to Kyiv, Ukraine.

In terms of geography, GMT or WET, which share the same local time, should be the time zone of choice for France.

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