The Meaning of Faire le Pont

The Meaning of Faire le Pont This expression is very useful since it describes something very French and does not translate well in English. First, lets not mistake faire le pont with faire le point (with an i) which means to evaluate/ assess a situation. Faire le Pont to do the Bridge Yoga Position Literally, faire le pont means to do the bridge. So, what could it mean? One of its meaning is a body position in yoga; a backstretch, where you stand on hands and feet with your belly facing up. Faire le Pont An Extra-Long Weekend The instance when faire le pont is most used is to describe a very French specific 4-day long weekend.   The holiday is on a Monday or a Friday - like anybody else, the French will have a three-day long weekend. Nothing exceptional here. Here is the French Twist: If the holiday is on a Thursday or a Tuesday, then the French will skip the day separating them from the weekend doing the bridge over the weekend. They will, of course, still get paid for it.   Schools also do it, and the students have to make up for the extra day off by going to school on a Wednesday (typically off for younger students) or a Saturday - you can imagine the mess it is when your kid is involved ​in a regular off-school activity such as a sport. Les Ponts du Mois de Mai: May Days Off There are many possible holidays in May: May 1st is Labor Day (la fà ªte du travail)May 8th is the end of WWIIAround mid or end of May, we have a Christian holiday, l’Ascension.Sometimes towards the very end of May, another Christian holiday la Pentecà ´te If this holiday falls on a Thursday or a Tuesday, les franà §ais vont faire le pont (you do need to conjugate Faire to agree with your subject), and everything will be closed for four days! With ​an extra-long weekend, many French people will take off, and the roads will be quite busy as well.