Red alert for bank holiday traffic
Ascension weekend jams expected as France gets its first proper bank holiday weekend
RED alerts have been issued for traffic over the coming days by road monitoring group Bison Futé.
Many people are expected to use tomorrow’s bank holiday as the start of a long weekend. (A habit known in France as ‘faire le pont’).
As this year France’s bank holidays of May 1 and May 8 have fallen on Saturdays it is the first opportunity for such a long weekend.
Overall the national level is classed as orange over the next few days, but red around the Ile-de-France, the south east and the Rhône-Alpes. If leaving Paris on Thursday, do so before midday Bison Futé advises.
Usual problems are expected on the A10 around Orléans, the A11 and A81, the A13 heading towards Normandy and the A6 and A7 in the south east.
Fewer problems are expected on Friday and Saturday, but Sunday will be classed as red for all roads heading to Paris.
Meanwhile travelers taking the train to Bordeaux face problems.
The station Bordeaux Saint-Jean will be closed from Thursday night through till Sunday afternoon. The SNCF says it is preparing to cope with an expected 100,000 people passing through by laying on a replacement bus service.
The closure is due to engineering works linked to a project to double the lines crossing the Garonne river.
