Heavy traffic expected this weekend in France as summer holidays begin

There will be heavy traffic on most main roads across France this weekend after the school summer holidays officially began yesterday (July 7).

Traffic monitor Bison Futé is warning of long tailbacks on Friday and particularly on Saturday, when traffic is expected to be very difficult everywhere and extremely difficult heading out of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

We look at which areas are going to be affected the most and what roads you should avoid for easier travel this weekend.

Key for the maps below:

Green: Normal traffic levels

Orange: Traffic is ‘difficult’

Red: Traffic is ‘very difficult’

Black: Traffic is ‘extremely difficult’

Départs: Towards resorts or tourist zones

Retours: From resorts or tourist zones

Friday

Traffic on Friday will be ‘difficult’ on most major roads on Friday in the direction of tourist areas, particularly the coast.

Bison Futé recommends leaving major cities before midday to avoid the worst of the traffic.

Traffic previsions for Friday, July 8. Credit: Bison Futé

Bison Futé gives the following advice for travel in the direction of tourist / holiday destinations:

• Leave or travel through the Paris region before 12:00

• Avoid the A1 between Paris and Senlis between 17:00 to 20:00

• Avoid the A10 motorway between Orleans and Tours between 15:00 and 19:00 pm

• Avoid the A7 motorway between Lyon and Orange between 16:00 and 21:00 and between Salon-de-Provence and Marseille between 15:00 and 20:00

• Avoid the A62 motorway between Bordeaux and Toulouse between 16:00 and 20:00

Bison Futé gives the following advice for travel returning from tourist / holiday destinations:

• Leave or travel through major cities before 15:00 or after 20:00

• Avoid the A13 motorway between Rouen and Paris from 17:00 to 20:00

• Avoid the A84 motorway between Rennes and Caen from 17:00 to 19:00

• Avoid the A7 motorway between Marseille and Salon-de-Provence from 15:00 to 20:00

• Avoid the A8 motorway between Italy and Nice from 16:00 to 20:00 and between Nice and Aix-en-Provence from 11:00 to 18:00

• Avoid the A62 motorway between Toulouse and Agen from 15:00 to 20:00

Bison Futé also warns of the closure of the A20 motorway in both directions around the Limoges junction for an undetermined period of time due to an incident on the construction site of a bridge.

For more information, see Bison Futé’s website here.

Saturday

Traffic is expected to be very difficult across the whole country but particularly in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and the area around Paris.

Traffic previsions for Saturday, July 9. Credit: Bison Futé

Bison Futé gives the following advice for travel in the direction of tourist / holiday destinations:

• Leave or travel through the Paris region after 16:00

• Avoid the A10 motorway at the Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines tollgate from 07:00 to 12:00 and between Orléans and Tours from 12:00 to 15:00

• Avoid the A11 motorway between Paris and Le Mans from 11:00 to 15:00 and between Le Mans and Angers from 11:00 to 13:00

• Avoid the A84 motorway between Caen and Rennes from 12:00 to 16:00

• Avoid the A63 motorway between Bordeaux and Bayonne from 11:00 to 13:00

• Go through the toll gate between Fleury and the A6 after 13:00

• Avoid the A62 motorway between Agen and Toulouse from 11:00 to 14:00

• Avoid the A61 motorway between Toulouse and Narbonne from 10:00 to 14:00

• There will be heavy traffic between 15:00 and 18:00 heading towards Italy via the Mont Blanc tunnel (N205)

Bison Futé gives the following advice for travel returning from tourist / holiday destinations:

• Avoid the A10 motorway between Bordeaux and Saintes from 11:00 to 13:00

• Avoid the A7 motorway between Marseille and Salon-de-Provence from 10:00 to 15: 00 and between Orange and Lyon from 10:00 to 18:00

• Avoid the A8 motorway between Nice and Aix-en-Provence from 10:00 to 15:00

• Avoid the A62 motorway between Toulouse and Agen, from 10:00 to 14:00

For more information, see Bison Futé’s website here.

Sunday and the Tour de France

Traffic is expected to return mostly to normal on Sunday but there will still be some difficulties in the southeast, especially on the A7 going south from Lyon towards Orange.

Be aware also of the Tour de France which is still ongoing. The seventh stage is being held today (July 8) between Tomblaine (Meurthe-et-Moselle) and the resort of La Planche des Belles Filles.

On Saturday the race will go from Dole (Jura) to Lausanne in Switzerland and on Sunday it will go from Aigle (Switzerland) to Châtel (Haute-Savoie).

Read more: Map: Does this year’s Tour de France pass through a town near you?

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