Back to School: France, Switzerland or Mauritius… Who Really Wants to Go Back?
September, new school bags, endless lists of supplies, alarm clocks ringing far too early… Back to school is here again!
Well… not everywhere.
Because while in France the first day of school almost feels like a national event, in Switzerland the answer is more likely to be “It depends on the canton”, while in Mauritius you could almost look at the French with amusement: they start their school year in January!
Why do I enjoy comparing these three countries?
This comparison isn’t entirely random.
I have lived in France, worked in Switzerland for more than 10 years, and also lived in Mauritius.
Three countries, three cultures, three different ways of doing things… and, above all, plenty of opportunities to realise that what seems completely normal to us isn’t necessarily normal just a few hundred or a few thousand kilometres away.
I particularly enjoy comparing the customs, habits and little everyday differences between these countries… and I have to admit that I’m not always very “France-centric”.
After living abroad for several years, you inevitably gain a little perspective on your own habits.
And going back to school is a perfect example.
In France: the great return of “When are the holidays?”
In mainland France, the 2026 school year started on Tuesday, September 1st.
And, as every year, it’s the great ritual:
A brand-new school bag.
Pencils that will mysteriously disappear before Halloween.
Shoes that were supposedly “still perfectly fine” until, somehow, they suddenly aren’t.
School supply lists that look more like an inventory for a small office.
An alarm clock set for 6:45 am after two months of getting up at 9:30.
And parents who are already missing the holidays.
France also has this wonderfully French characteristic: even though we have known the first day of school for months, someone will still end up buying the 24 x 32 cm squared notebook on Sunday evening at 7:42 pm.
And this year, there’s another little change: the ban on mobile phones has been extended to high school. Some teenagers will therefore have to rediscover a rather forgotten technology: talking to people face to face.
France also has its famous system of school holiday zones, designed to spread winter and spring holidays across the country.
A brilliant idea to prevent everyone from going on holiday at exactly the same time.
Except for August 1st, of course.
Apparently, everyone gets the same idea that day.
In Switzerland: “When does school start? It depends…”
And this is where things get interesting.
In Switzerland, there is no single national school start date.
Compulsory education is largely organised at cantonal level, so school calendars can vary depending on where you live.
So when a French person asks a Swiss person:
“So, when do your children go back to school?”
The answer might very well be:
“It depends.”
And there we have it.
We have found a country that has managed to turn a simple question about the school calendar into an administrative matter.
After working in Switzerland for more than ten years, I can confirm that this very organised, highly local approach is one of those cultural differences that becomes quite amusing when you look at it from the outside.
And of course, it’s not just about school calendars.
Switzerland also taught me that it is perfectly possible to have an extremely precise organisation without necessarily feeling the need to do exactly what your neighbour is doing.
A philosophy that could perhaps be summed up as:
“Everyone does exactly what is planned, just not necessarily the same thing as everyone else.”
In Mauritius: Wait… they’ve already gone back to school!
And this is the moment when the French realise that September is not a universal back-to-school month.
In Mauritius, the school year follows a different calendar.
In 2026, the first term began in January, followed by a second term, before the third term started again on August 17th.
In other words, while French children were still enjoying the last weeks of their summer holidays…
…the Mauritian children had already gone back to school!
Picture the scene.
In France:
“Enjoy these last few days, school starts on Monday!”
In Mauritius:
“Back to school? But we went back ages ago!”
And while some parents are desperately looking for a parking space outside the school at 8:12 am…
…others are starting their day under the palm trees.
It could be worse.
Three countries, three ways of looking at everyday life
This is precisely what I enjoy about these comparisons.
Because beyond the school calendar, we are really looking at three different ways of organising everyday life.
In France, we have our familiar habits, traditions and well-established calendar.
In Switzerland, we discover that there can be 26 different cantonal ways of answering what seemed like a very simple question.
And in Mauritius, the school calendar reminds us that there is actually no particular reason why September should be the universal month for going back to school.
These are the kinds of little differences I have always found fascinating.
After living in several countries, you realise one thing above all:
our habits are not necessarily universal truths.
They are simply… our habits.
And sometimes, taking a step back allows us to look at them with a lot more humour.
What if going back to school was also about quality of life?
Ultimately, these differences reveal something much more interesting: the way each country organises everyday life and its relationship with time.
Because when you choose where to live, you’re not just choosing a house.
You’re also choosing:
a pace of life,
schools,
holidays,
commuting and transport,
the surrounding environment,
local services,
and ultimately… an entire way of living.
That is also why I like talking about quality of life when it comes to property.
A home isn’t simply a number of square metres, a kitchen and a certain number of bedrooms.
It is an environment, a lifestyle, a rhythm, possibilities… and sometimes even a whole new way of looking at everyday life.
And what about the Dordogne?
Having lived in France, worked in Switzerland for more than ten years and lived in Mauritius, I obviously won’t pretend that the Dordogne has palm trees.
That would be misleading.
What it does have, however, is something else: its own very special way of life.
Markets, villages, nature, beautiful landscapes, generous food, reasonable distances and that feeling that life can sometimes slow down a little.
And after experiencing other ways of living, these are precisely the things you tend to notice more.
Perhaps that’s also what being a little less “France-centric” means: being able to love your country deeply while knowing that there are plenty of other ways of doing things… and that some of them are definitely worth borrowing from.
So, which back-to-school experience would you choose?
The French version in September?
The Swiss version, canton by canton?
Or the Mauritian calendar, with a school year starting in January?
Personally, I’m happy to take the best ideas from all three.
And as for the rest…
I suggest we keep one universal rule:
holidays should always be a little longer.
There.
I think we can finally all agree on that!