La Rentrée: Getting Back in the Swing of Things

After les grandes vacances (the long summer holidays) comes la rentrée (literally, "the return") in France. It is a special time of year when students go back to school and workers go back to work in September. Indeed, the term extends to any sector of the economy resuming its normal activity after the long summer break. There is even la rentrée littéraire (the literary return) when new books come out! Because la rentrée covers such a variety of situations, the word does not translate easily, and it is a concept best grasped through examples in various contexts. 

Still, when talking about la rentrée, the French usually refer to la rentrée scolaire (back-to-school time), a topic that is on Sophie and Patrice’s minds in this video:

Donc, c'est la rentrée scolaire. -Ouais.

So, it's back-to-school time. -Yeah.

Caption 1, Sophie et Patrice La rentrée

 Play Caption

La rentrée also refers to “the start of the school year,” which can be an expensive time of year for parents…

Ah la rentrée, c'est toujours des dépenses.

Ah the start of the school year: it's always expenses.

Captions 2-3, Nader Fakhry L'école pour tous

 Play Caption

Alternatively, you could call la rentrée “the new school year”:

Au lycée Louis Blériot, Karen Montet-Toutain est la grande absente de cette rentrée.

At Louis Blériot High School, Karen Montet-Toutain is the great absentee of this new school year.

Caption 30, Le Journal La violence à l'école

 Play Caption

Alas, la rentrée spells the end of summer vacations not just for students, but also for everyone else. In this context, it's better translated as “the return from the summer holidays”:

C'est la rentrée

It's the return from the summer holidays

Caption 2, Sophie et Patrice La rentrée

 Play Caption

La rentrée is also the time when workers go “back to work” and maybe brag about their vacations, just like school kids. In the following video, Sara jokingly tells us that it is la rentrée des superstars (back to work for the superstars), presumably with their glowing tans:

C'est la rentrée des superstars.

It's back to work for the superstars.

Caption 8, Sara et Lionel Le bronzage

 Play Caption

In any case, la rentrée is a big deal in France. But for some people, like Alexandre, the prospect of going back to work is depressing:

Alors, je sais pas pour toi, mais moi, la rentrée... Ouais, ça m'a déprimé.

So, I don't know about you, but me, going back to work... Yeah, it's depressed me.

Captions 1-3, Sophie et Alexandre Et la rentrée ?

 Play Caption

On the other hand, Sophie has a more positive outlook on la rentrée. She sees “returning to work” as a chance to start afresh, a kind of revolution even: 

Mais la rentrée, c'est une révolution.

But returning to work is a revolution.

Caption 47, Sophie et Alexandre Et la rentrée ?

 Play Caption

In some cases, this very concise word needs to be turned into a full clause to convey the idea! 

Mais là, à la rentrée, faudra qu'on s'organise bien

But now, when we're back at work, we'll have to get organized

Caption 54, Elisa et Mashal Photos

 Play Caption

As people get organized for la rentrée, it is not uncommon to wish someone une bonne rentrée, “a good start to the work/school year." This greeting won't be necessary for Sophie, as she is already off to a great start:

Bon apparemment tu passes une très bonne rentrée

Well, apparently you're having a very good start to the work year

Caption 65, Sophie et Alexandre Et la rentrée ?

 Play Caption

To sum up, la rentrée conveys the idea of going back to school or work and also marks the start of a new school or work year. However, don’t forget that the word rentrée can be used in other ways besides what we just mentioned. For example, you can talk about une rentrée d’argent (money coming in):

Une rentrée d’argent imprévue serait la bienvenue après les grandes vacances.

A windfall would be welcome after the long summer holidays.

And finally, remember that rentrée (returned) is also the feminine singular past participle of rentrer (to return):

Non, elle est rentrée sans chanter.

No, she came in without singing [she didn't come in singing].

Caption 59, Le saviez-vous? Les différentes négations - Part 3

 Play Caption

Wishing our Yabla students une bonne rentrée! For more information on the cultural event of la rentrée, check out this article. Thank you for reading!