In the night from October 25 to 26, 2025, France will switch back to winter time. Indeed, the legal reference time will be announced by Service-public.fr. Under the shadow of a still-active European framework, the reform desired in 2019 remains on hold. Darker afternoons, brighter mornings, increased vigilance for pedestrians: cities and households adjust their rhythms while our devices resynchronize, as during the 2024 time change. Here is what this changes, concretely.
What will happen during the switch to winter time from October 25 to 26
In the dimness of a Sunday that will arrive earlier, metropolitan France will turn back its clocks. At 03:00, in CET/UTC+1, it will be 02:00: clocks are set back by one hour (time change). The winter time change will occur in the night from Saturday, October 25 to Sunday, October 26, 2025. This information is published by the Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information. Connected devices will switch without ceremony while old watches and kitchen clocks will require familiar attention.
We will smile at having ‘gained’ an hour of sleep. However, we will notice that evening light fades earlier. Thus goes the semi-annual ritual for nearly half a century.
This so-called ‘winter’ time constitutes the legal reference time in the mainland: UTC + 1, or Central European Time. The summer time (time change) is a seasonal adjustment that places the mainland at UTC + 2. This mechanism is part of a common framework within the European Union. The March time change (summer time 2025) begins on the last Sunday of March. It ends on the last Sunday of October, at specific hours harmonized across the continent. This is done in accordance with Directive 2000/84/EC. In other words, the March 2025 time change (switch to summer time) occurs on the last Sunday of March.
Why France still changes time
France adopted this system in the wake of the 1973-1974 oil crisis. The decision was enacted by decree in 1975 for implementation starting in 1976. The goal was to save energy by aligning human activity with daylight hours to reduce artificial lighting. The energy argument remains debated in the era of efficient devices and more refined electrical grids. However, the historical framework survives, condensed into a reflexive gesture. We gain an hour of daylight in the morning and lose one in the evening. Schoolchildren cross streets under a brighter sky, workers return home earlier in the night. The collective temporality shifts, subtly but concretely.
Over the decades, the routine has not escaped criticism. Chronobiology studies highlight that any schedule modification disrupts circadian cycles and sleep quality. Doctors mention an adaptation period, varying by age, activity, and exposure to natural light. On a social scale, the transport, communications, and commerce sectors appreciate the advantage of common dates. Additionally, they benefit from coordinated time slots. The issue is not merely an addition of daylight minutes. It always evokes the compromise between individual comfort and collective organization.
A European framework… and a stalled reform project
On March 26, 2019, the European Parliament adopted in first reading a text providing for the end of seasonal time changes. The intention was clear: to allow each member state to choose a stable time regime. This could be permanent summer time or permanent winter time. All this was to avoid the fragmentation of the internal market. The implementation announced for 2021 did not take place. The subject slipped off the European political agenda due to a lack of consensus among member states. This concerned the permanent time to be retained and the schedule. Nothing is enacted to date. The framework directive, still in force, remains the one that harmonizes the start and end of summer time. This applies within the EU.
This suspension illustrates a practical difficulty: a map of Europe cannot be folded with a single gesture. Countries do not share the same latitude, the same east-west distribution, nor the same social practices. Cooperation and predictability remain key for rail and air networks, for computer systems and cross-border exchanges. The question is less ideological than logistical: how to move a standard that synchronizes millions of clocks, tickets, and software?
Earlier sun, livelier night: the concrete effects of October 26
The day after the switch, Sunday, October 26, 2025 (CET/UTC+1), Paris will see the sunset around 17:39. This will be in legal winter time (CET/UTC+1). The figure is enough to feel the season: dusk takes over the late afternoons, shop windows light up, terraces seek the heating lamp. The daybreak advances accordingly, benefiting morning commutes. In offices and workshops alike, a slight torpor sets in the following week. The body resets its markers with wake-ups, meals, and moments of light exposure. It takes a few days to regain a routine, all the more distinct if one maintains simple hygiene: getting up at a fixed time, going out in the light, moderating screens in the evening.
The psychological effect should not be overlooked. The perceived reduction in daylight duration is often confused with winter time. Yet, it primarily results from the progression of the seasons. This reduction can foster a sense of fatigue. Hence the importance for cities to provide bright spaces and calm mobility. The white light of transport and the more flexible pace of connections help overcome the first early darkness slot. Additionally, extended hours of sports and cultural facilities also help to overcome this period.
The vulnerable moment: what road safety says
Every year, the figures remind us of a trivial reality: when night falls earlier, visibility deteriorates on the return journey. Pedestrians are the first exposed. According to the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory, accidents involving pedestrians increase by about 34% in November. On average over the period 2019-2023, this increase is observed compared to October. It is an observed correlation, not a demonstrated causality. This over-accidentality does not indicate a simple causality, but it signals a critical adaptation period. It is concentrated in the week following the switch.
Road Safety urges increased attention: have the vehicle’s lighting checked, moderate speed at dusk, make oneself visible on foot or by bike with retro-reflective elements, anticipate crossings near schools and bus stops.
In the streets, one suddenly notices the black silhouette that was visible the day before. Vulnerable users, including cyclists and scooters, benefit from reconnecting with simple gestures: lights on at all times, assumed position in the lane, eye contact at intersections. These are routines more than an arsenal, a way to inhabit the city without relying on the mercy of headlights.
Overseas, an exception that proves the rule
The time change does not concern all French territories. In overseas, only the archipelago of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon adjusts its clocks, on a schedule aligned with North America. The other communities do not practice summer time. The mainland and European neighbors thus remain the main stage of this temporal choreography. Again, geography dictates its law: under tropical or equatorial latitudes, seasonal variation is minimal. Consequently, the variation in day length makes seasonal time shifts less relevant. ‘In overseas, only Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon practices the time change; the other territories do not apply summer time.’
To whom do our clocks belong?
There is the standard and there are the rituals. The microwave that is reprogrammed with a distracted finger. The oven that stubbornly refuses to leave summer time. The alarm clock that offers an extra hour and a semblance of luxury. Shows that start earlier than the light. Shops that adapt to a reconfigured flow of passersby. So many scenes that express our attachment to a shared temporality: the common time remains a discreet cement. Hence this caution at the European level: if a permanent regime were to be set, it would first be necessary to ensure. Indeed, it is crucial not to fracture daily continuities, those of trains, planes, school schedules. Additionally, it is important to consider banking software.
In this debate, one point is consensual: predictability. When to change time? How to inform users? What public messages to remind each autumn? Authorities emphasize education, and it would be wise to adopt our own anticipation rituals. Checking the night route is essential to avoid surprises. Spotting a vest or armband ensures better visibility. Additionally, setting a regular alarm for children facilitates their daily routine. Going out a bit earlier in the morning allows for enjoying the light. The solutions are modest and concrete, they compose an ecology of the everyday.
How the switch is made… and how to prepare for it
In the still-wet street, a baker raises his shutter: the shop clock shows 02:00, the phone displays 03:00. On an almost empty platform, a train stirs, the boards recalculate the time, an agent raises his hand. In the control room, they whisper ‘top’: time steps back, the city keeps pace.
Most phones, computers, and boxes change time automatically. The analog domain remains, connecting us to the gesture of our elders. We turn back the hands by sixty minutes, we check the alarm. Wall clocks and manually wound watches emit their little old-time noise. This is enough to give value to time. The school, the factory, the hospital, the station follow this same mechanism, but on the scale of sophisticated logistics. Timekeeping software integrates libraries of time zones and switch rules, accurate to the country. The apparent simplicity of the switch masks the invisible coordination that avoids ghost trains and missed connections.
On the platform of a Parisian station, a conductor checks a ticket where the time has just been set back. In a provincial bus, a student dozes, the gray light clings to the windows. In a TV control room, a technician adjusts a schedule to not lose a minute: social timekeeping aligns, quietly.
For the week of October 27 that opens, nothing beats clear markers. An alarm set without excess. A morning outing to catch the light. A dinner moved forward a bit. Chronobiology educators repeat: sun exposure anchors the internal clock. If a symbol is needed, it will be that of a public bench. We sit for ten minutes before moving on. The rest will follow naturally.
What we know, what remains open
We know that the switch to winter time will occur on October 26, 2025, at 03:00 (CET/UTC+1), to become 02:00 on the clock. We know that the European Union maintains a stabilized legal framework, inherited from a directive that sets common dates. We know that the 2019 vote in the European Parliament had no effects. Indeed, this vote aimed to end the seasonal change. Consequently, no concrete action has been taken to abolish this practice after this vote. Yet, this decision remains without consequence. Moreover, no deadline is announced today. We know that in November, accidents involving pedestrians increase significantly at dusk. We finally know that light arrives earlier in the morning, and that night falls faster. However, we will adapt, as always, through a sum of details.
It remains to be decided one day if Europe wants a stable time. National consultations have shown contrasting preferences. Many French people are in favor of permanent summer time, attracted by longer evenings. Others advocate for permanent winter time, in the name of alignment with the sun and more regular biological rhythms. The debate is less of a dispute than a way to clarify our priorities: health, economy, mobility coherence, market unity. As long as no consensus emerges, autumn will continue to offer us this tiny national narrative. Thus, an extended night, clearer mornings, and the sensation that by setting the clock back an hour, they appear. We temporarily retrace our steps in those of the season.
What winter time really changes, here and now
In the end, only one thing is certain: October 26, 2025, at 3 AM, France will return to 2 AM: winter time change 2025 and guidelines for the following week. European law, social practices, and intimate habits compose a common clockwork that beats to the rhythm of the seasons. Nothing is decided regarding the future of the system, but patient coordination is necessary. Moreover, constant education proves essential to advance in this project.
In the streets, winter time brings back morning light and condenses the evenings. It requires increased attention to pedestrians at dusk, more regular sleep hygiene, and an economy of simple gestures. It also reminds us that legal time is not just a number. Indeed, it is a silent culture. Furthermore, it is a tacit agreement between neighbors, travelers, and timetable readers.
Sometimes we would like to choose a definitive time. For now, wisdom consists of negotiating with the season: having dinner earlier, walking in the sun, turning on headlights, greeting the schoolchild at the crosswalk. One minute after another, autumn will find its balance, and our clocks, their measure. And tomorrow, it will be daylight earlier.