French Sundays: One Day Off to Beat the Monday Scaries

Americans treat weekends like a race to check off chores, but the French have figured out something better. In France, Sundays are sacred days for rest, and even protests pause to honor them.

The viral "French Sunday" trend encourages people to treat Sundays like holidays instead of prep days for the workweek. Most shops in France close by noon on Sundays, removing any pressure to be productive or run errands.

Céline Kaplan, a PR agent who works with French clients in New York, explains that Sundays in France are untouchable. People don't meal prep, organize closets, or tackle to-do lists.

Instead, French Sundays focus on connecting with family and friends over long meals. The day centers on being present with loved ones rather than isolating with screens or catching up on household tasks.

The trend gained momentum after Vogue highlighted how this approach combats Sunday Scaries, that creeping anxiety many people feel before Monday. Research shows that scrolling through devices to decompress actually increases stress and loneliness.

Traditional productivity advice tells Americans to use Sundays for meal prep, laundry, calendar reviews, and laying out work clothes. This essentially turns Sunday into a sixth workday.

The French approach does the opposite. The main activity on a proper French Sunday is doing nothing productive at all.

Why This Inspires

This simple shift in mindset offers Americans permission to truly rest one day a week. In a culture obsessed with optimization and hustle, treating Sunday as genuinely sacred feels revolutionary.

The beauty lies in its simplicity. You don't need special equipment, expensive memberships, or complicated routines. You just need to protect one day for actual rest.

When Monday arrives after a real day off, you start the week refreshed instead of already exhausted. That calm beginning ripples through the entire week ahead.

The trend reminds us that sometimes the most productive thing we can do is absolutely nothing.