Travel red alert: how to avoid jams

THE ASSUMPTION holiday weekend is set to be a busy one on France's motorway network, with at least 500km of jams forecast on Saturday August 15.

Traffic monitor Bison Futé has issued the red alert for all of France. The warning applies in both directions - leaving the big conurbations for the coast and heading back the other way.

The Mediterranean motorways linking Spain and Italy (A9, A54, A7 and A8) will be particularly busy.

How to avoid the holiday traffic

Bison Futé provides up-to-the-minute traffic maps showing how the roads out of the big French cities are looking in real time - potentially a useful tool if deciding whether to postpone your departure for a quieter time. The information is also available on a smartphone app.

For motorway traffic, autoroutes.fr is an official site from the association of French motorway operators, with a real-time traffic map.

While you are on the road, look out for overhead panels advising you to cut your speed from 130 to 110. These are designed to keep the motorway fluid - slowing down will mean you avoid a jam further along the road.

Also tune your radio to 107.7FM for live updates including details of any accidents or roadworks. Some bulletins are broadcast in English.