Traffic expected across French motorways as school holidays begin
Roads will be particularly busy in north and west as second-highest traffic warnings raised
Drivers should expect many motorways to be busy across summer weekends
barmalini/Shutterstock
Drivers in northern France are advised to expect heavy traffic this weekend as up to eight million cars hit the road as the school holidays start in France.
The summer holidays begin on Saturday July 4, with traffic watchdog Bison Futé expecting an increase in traffic with families departing for early trips.
Heightened levels of traffic are expected from Friday onwards however, as families from neighbouring countries also travel through France.
On Friday (July 3) tier-two yellow traffic warnings are in place across all regions, increasing to a tier-three red warning in the Île-de-France region and eastern parts of the country.
These warnings apply to roads leading out of major cities, with people heading to more rural areas for holidays, usually with families or at a camp site, beaches, etc.
However, warnings for drivers heading into larger cities are also in place across northern and north-west France. Drivers heading into France from Belgium and Germany will also contribute to the traffic.
On Saturday, the Île-de-France, Normandy, Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, and Hauts-de-France regions are all on a red-alert for heightened traffic leaving major cities, with a concentration of vehicles expected on major motorways from the mid-morning to late afternoon.
Sunday should be calmer, with yellow warnings only in place for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and for vehicles entering Île-de-France.
Particular advice for drivers includes:
On Friday:
Leave or pass through the Île-de-France region before 10:00 or after 23:00
Avoid the A31 in the direction Beaune-Luxembourg from 16:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A36 in the direction Besançon-Germany from 16:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A10 in the direction Poitiers-Bordeaux from 11:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A7 in the direction Lyon-Orange from 12:00 to 20:00 and Orange-Marseille from 15:00 to 20:00
Avoid the A75 in the direction Clermont-Ferrand-Béziers from 15:00 to 18:00
Avoid the A40 in the direction Mâcon-Passy from 16:00 to 20:00
Avoid the Mont Blanc Tunnel (N205) in the direction France-Italy from 08:00 to 18:00
Avoid the A22 in the direction Belgium-Lille from 14:00 to 18:00
Avoid the A1 in the direction Lille-Paris from 15:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A2 in the direction Belgium-the A1 junction from 13:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A21 in the direction Lens-Denain from 17:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A83 in the direction Niort-Nantes from 15:00 to 18:00
Avoid the N165 in the direction Nantes-Quimper from 16:00 to 19:00
On Saturday:
Leave or pass through the Île-de-France region before 05:00 or after 16:00
Avoid the N42 between the A26 junction-Boulogne-sur-Mer from 13:00 to 17:00
Avoid the A11 in the direction Angers-Nantes from 12:00 to 14:00
Avoid the N165 in the direction Nantes-Quimper from 11:00 to 13:00
Avoid the A10 in the direction Paris-Orléans from 09:00 to 11:00, Orléans-Tours from 11:00 to 13:00, and Poitiers-Bordeaux from 11:00 to 16:00
Avoid the A63 in the direction Bordeaux-Bayonne from 10:00 to 17:00
Avoid the A7 in the direction Lyon-Orange from 09:00 to 16:00
Avoid the A75 in the direction Clermont-Ferrand-Béziers from 11:00 to 15:00
And Sunday:
Avoid the A7 in the direction Lyon-Orange from 11:00 to 20:00
Avoid the Mont Blanc Tunnel (N205) between France and Italy from 10:00 to 18:00
Avoid the A46 and N346 (Lyon’s eastern bypass) from 12:00 to 20:00
Reach or pass through the Île-de-France region before 15:00 or after 23:00
Traffic is expected across the A13 throughout the weekend, but should be in part mitigated by the use of free-flowing tolls on the road.
More traffic looms
Although this weekend is the start of France’s summer school holidays, there is no great rush by families to immediately leave on a trip.
French workers generally fall into two camps of summer holidaymakers based on if they take holidays in July or August, meaning traffic is expected across most weekends of the summer.
While this helps to spread out travel across the two months, it also means roads are busy for several successive weeks, as people both depart and return.
There remain several days that are set to be extremely busy even if travel is spread out.
Bison Futé is forecasting five days of ‘black’ traffic warnings – the highest possible – falling on Fridays and Saturdays across July and August.
Drivers should plan in advance to avoid major roads on these days where possible.
