Bank holiday trouble on roads
Bison Futé warns today and tomorrow will have difficult and slow driving conditions as people head out of big cities
TWO bank holidays on successive days on May 8 and 9 means chaos is expected on the roads this week as people head out of Paris and the major cities for the weekend.
Roads agency Bison Futé recommends that drivers avoid today and tomorrow for starting their journeys and says that traffic conditions across the country will be particularly bad on Sunday as people head home.
The bank holidays mark Victory in Europe day on May 8 to mark the Nazi surrender in World War II and the religious feast of Ascension on May 9. People link the holidays and the weekend by taking “le pont” and having Friday off – some companies even enforce this by closing offices.
VE Day commemorations and parades will be held at war memorials all over the country tomorrow and British ex-servicemen and women are especially welcome to participate. Details of services can be found in local papers and online.
Today and tomorrow are both classed as “orange” for traffic conditions, with Sunday being classed “red”. Traffic will be particularly bad on urban motorways and expressways but also down the Rhône Valley.
Jams are expected to build up towards Lyon from this afternoon with the road to the Mont Blanc tunnel particularly badly affected. On Sunday, two places to avoid are Bellegarde-sur-Valserine and Éloise where roadworks are expected to cause long delays.
Bison Futé suggests travelling on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for easier and less expensive driving – and says traffic conditions for the Sunday return are not expected to clear before 22.00.
