France
Paris
Current time
Monday, June 22, 2026
- Capital
- Paris
- Time zone
- Europe/Paris
- UTC offset
- UTC+2
- DST
- DST
France observes Central European Time (CET, UTC+1) and switches to Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+2) during daylight saving period. The entire metropolitan France shares the same time zone as Paris, synchronized with neighboring Germany and Spain. Time difference is 7 hours behind Beijing (6h during DST) and 6 hours ahead of New York (5h during DST).
Time Zone & Daylight Saving
Metropolitan France uses a single time zone (Europe/Paris). Daylight saving starts at 2am on the last Sunday of March (clocks move forward 1 hour) and ends at 3am on the last Sunday of October. Overseas territories like Réunion and Corsica have distinct time zones.
Despite historical resistance to DST, France follows EU directives as a member state. Although the EU proposed abolishing seasonal clock changes in 2021, no final decision has been made, thus France maintains the current system.
Global Time Differences
France shares time with Western European cities (London, Berlin). Beijing is +7h (winter) or +6h (summer). New York is -6h (winter) or -5h (summer). Silicon Valley has -9h (winter) or -8h (summer) difference.
Paris Stock Exchange operates during 8:00-16:30 CET (15:00-23:30 Beijing winter time). Time gaps with Central/Eastern Europe range 0-1h, while North African countries show 0-2h variations.
FAQ
- What's the current time in France? Is DST active?
- Live Paris time is shown above. France observes DST (CEST) from last Sunday of March to last Sunday of October annually. DST ends on the last Sunday of October at 3am when clocks revert to CET.
- Which time zones do French overseas territories use?
- Martinique (UTC-4), Guadeloupe (UTC-4), French Guiana (UTC-3) and Réunion (UTC+4) have separate time zones. Saint Pierre and Miquelon even shares Newfoundland Time (UTC-3) with Canada.
- How to calculate France-China time difference?
- Winter time (Oct-Mar): France time = Beijing time -7h. Summer time (Mar-Oct): France time = Beijing time -6h. E.g. When it's noon in Beijing, Paris shows 5am (winter) or 6am (summer).