What CET Is All About

So, you're dealing with Central European Time (CET) — specifically, France's time zone through Europe/Paris. Here's the deal: CET is UTC+1 during standard time, but France switches to Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+2) when daylight saving kicks in. Yeah, they do the whole spring forward/fall back thing, just like many of us.

UTC Offset and DST Dates for 2026

Mark your calendar: In 2026, DST starts on Sunday, March 29, at 2:00 AM local time — clocks jump to 3:00 AM. Then it ends on Sunday, October 25, at 3:00 AM, nudging back to 2:00 AM. So from late March to late October, France is on CEST (UTC+2); the rest of the year, it's standard CET (UTC+1).

Best Times for International Calls

Let's break it down for a few key cities (assuming standard CET, but keep DST in mind):

  • London: France is 1 hour ahead. So if you want to catch both your French contact and someone in London, aim for 10:00 AM–4:00 PM Paris time — that's 9:00 AM–3:00 PM in London. Perfect for morning meetings.
  • New York: France is 6 hours ahead (5 during EST). Best overlap? 3:00 PM–6:00 PM Paris time (9:00 AM–12:00 PM in NYC). You'll squeeze in a few hours before the US day wraps.
  • Tokyo: Japan is 8 hours ahead of CET. So 8:00 AM–10:00 AM Paris time lines up with 4:00 PM–6:00 PM in Tokyo. Early bird gets the worm here.
  • Sydney: Australia's 10 hours ahead (or 9 during their DST). Try 8:00 AM–10:00 AM Paris time for a late afternoon chat in Sydney. Not a ton of overlap, but it works.

Business Hours Overlap with Major Markets

French business hours typically run 9:00 AM–6:00 PM, with a lunch break around 12:00–2:00 PM. That gives you: a solid 4-hour overlap with London (9:00 AM–12:00 PM their time), a narrow window with New York (2:00 PM–4:00 PM CET), and early-morning connections with Tokyo and Sydney if you're up at 8:00 AM. For Asia-Pacific, you'll want to schedule calls before lunch — after 3:00 PM, they're likely out.

One Interesting Fact

Here's a quirky one: France actually has more time zones than any other country — 12 (if you count overseas territories). But mainland France? Just CET/CEST. So when you're in Paris, you're in the same zone as most of Western Europe, but across the globe, French territories span from UTC-10 to UTC+12. Talk about diversity!