When is traffic on France’s roads going to be heaviest this weekend?

France is bracing itself for a fourth consecutive weekend of heavy traffic as holidaymakers continue to depart from major cities.

Official traffic site Bison Futé has put in place tier-two warnings for traffic across France on Friday (July 21).

On Saturday (July 22), this jumps to a red alert – the second highest level possible – as more people begin to leave for their summer holidays.

Roads departing major cities are set to be most affected, with Bison Futé highlighting Paris, roads towards the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts as being particularly affected.

Internationally, the Mont Blanc tunnel connecting France and Italy is set to see heavy traffic leaving from the French side on both days.

Friday warnings

Although Friday sees only a level-two warning for traffic, a number of roads are set to see heavier congestion than usual.

Traffic warnings are only in place for drivers leaving larger population areas with journeys heading into cities not set to see increased traffic.

“In the Île-de-France region, traffic will be busy heading for the toll gates on the A10 and A6 motorways,” said Bison Futé.

On top of this, the A63 between Bordeaux and Bayonne is set to see traffic for most of the day, rising to its highest levels between 11:00 and 14:00.

The A7 motorway linking Lyon to the Mediterranean is set to see heavier traffic, particularly in the afternoon.

The Mont Blanc tunnel “will be severely disrupted,” in the afternoon, with increased traffic being seen from 10:00 and 21:00 but set to be particularly saturated between 14:00 and 17:00.

Read more: France-bound travellers warned of two-and-half-hour delays at Dover

Saturday: ‘Traffic heavily disrupted’

The nationwide warning levels shoot up to a red alert on Saturday, the second highest possible given by the traffic authority.

Bison Futé said traffic “will be heavily disrupted” across a number of routes, particularly towards the Atlantic Coast.

The A10 and A63 are set to see ‘saturated’ traffic along most of the route at lunchtime, although increased traffic will be seen throughout most of the day.

The A7 is also set to see traffic jams, with the authorities warning traffic will be congested on the road between 09:00 and 21:00.

Roads leading out of France towards Spain (the A9) and Italy (the Mont Blanc Tunnel) will also see heavy traffic, with the Tunnel in particular saturated between 10:00 and 16:00.

Once again, only departing traffic is set to be affected, with those driving into France/larger cities expected to see standard levels of traffic.

By Sunday (July 23), Bison Futé believes traffic levels will have returned to normal across the country.

Early predictions for next weekend, however, see even stronger warnings in place, with holidaymakers both departing and returning from summer getaways.

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