Back To School or la Rentrée French Style

Although most people in France are still enjoying their days off on vacation as I write this post, our fellow French, Francophones, and Francophiles in the United States are already getting ready for back-to-school, which takes place in mid-August. The relaxing summer days are almost behind us, along with the easygoing, carefree lifestyle, and now we are getting ready for the return of daily routine and more structured schedules.

However, in France, back-to-school, or as we say in French, la Rentrée, is a cultural phenomenon that takes place a little later, in September. Les grandes vacances, or summer break, is over, and it’s back to business and a reset before the end of the year. While children and students get ready to go back to school for la rentrée scolaire, most of the population returns to work in their respective occupations: professionals are back in their offices, teachers welcome new groups of students in their classrooms, etc.

La Rentrée is also an overall cultural and political reset, during which the whole country slowly returns to full swing. The shops and boutiques reopen, our favorite TV shows are back on the air from their August hiatus, and hundreds of new books are published, known as the Literary Season or “La rentrée littéraire“.

Here are a few Back-to-School Essentials, from the infamous multicoloured BIC pens to the traditional Waterman fountain pen for the older students, to add a little French je ne sais quoi to your back-to-school or La Rentrée, as we say in French. Click on the link for more selections that may tickle your fancy.