Check traffic warnings near you in France for busy Easter weekend
Several regions are facing warnings across the period
Roads in the north and west are set to be congested throughout much of the weekend
Mathis Boussuge / Shutterstock
Drivers in France are being warned to check travel itineraries in advance this weekend, as heavy traffic is expected across the country.
The public holiday on Monday creates a long weekend, with many expected to also take Friday (April 18) off work.
In addition school holidays come to an end in Zone B and start in Zone A, which will lead to extra traffic.
Traffic watchdog Bison Futé believes Easter will be one of the busiest weeks of the year for traffic in the country.
‘Red day’ for traffic on Friday
Congestion is set to peak tomorrow (Friday April 18) with the entire country marked as facing a tier-three red warning (the second-highest possible given by the watchdog).
This is mostly on roads exiting major cities as people leave for the weekend, but cautions are also in place for certain routes entering built-up areas, either as people visit larger towns for a city-break or return from school holidays.
Several major motorways have warnings in place in both directions for heightened traffic, with the evening set to be the busiest time overall.
Roads in the north, west, and south-east will be particularly affected, with Bison Futé offering the following advice to drivers for the day:
Leave or traverse the Île-de-France region before 09:00, and return before 17:00 to miss evening traffic
Avoid the A1 in the direction Lille-Paris between 15:00 and 19:00, and Paris-Lille from 13:00 to 21:00
Avoid the A25 in the direction Socx-Lille between 11:00 to 19:00, and Lille-Socx between 15:00 to 18:00
Avoid the A13 in the direction Paris-Caen between 16:00 and 19:00
Avoid the A63 in the direction of Bordeaux-Bayonne between 17:00 to 20:00
Avoid the A7 in the direction of Lyon-Orange between 13:00 and 23:00, Orange-Marseille between 15:00 and 19:00, and Marseille-Salon-de-Provence between 16:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A46 and RN346 (to reach the Lyon Eastern Bypass) between 12:00 and 19:00
Avoid the Mont Blanc Tunnel (N205) in the direction of Italy towards 10:00 and 17:00
Avoid the A9 in the direction Narbonne-Montpellier from 16:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A54 and RN113, in the direction Nîmes-Salon-de-Provence from 15:00 to 20:00
Avoid the A41 heading towards Switzerland and Chambéry, from 13:00 to 17:00
Other roads that may face busier than usual traffic include the A8, A9, A10, A25 and A61.
Conditions briefly improve on Sunday
Conditions will be slightly better on Saturday, with the red warnings limited to the north of France in the Hauts-de-France, Normandie, Brittany, Île-de-France, Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire regions.
However, some traffic is also likely to be present in the south-east and south-west.
Advice from Bison Futé for Saturday includes:
Leave or traverse the Île-de-France region before 06:00 or after 17:00
Avoid the A1 in the direction Paris-Lille from 15:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A25 in the direction Lille-Socx from 11:00 to 14:00
Avoid the A13 in the direction Paris-Rouen from 11:00 to 18:00
Avoid the A11 in the direction Le Mans-Angers from 12:00 to 18:00
Avoid the A63 in the direction Bordeaux-Bayonne from 10:00 to 16:00
Avoid the A7 in the direction Lyon-Orange from 10:00 to 18:00
Avoid the Mont Blanc Tunnel (N205) heading towards Italy from 07:00 to 18:00
No warnings are in place on Sunday, with holidaymakers at their destination and only travelling back on Monday.
Red-level warnings will therefore return on the public holiday, although surprisingly not on some of the roads you might expect.
The warnings are in place in the same regions as on Saturday, although this time in the return direction as holidaymakers come home.
Traffic is expected to be busy until well into the evening on some roads.
The following advice is in place:
Arrive in or traverse the Île-de-France region before 11:00
Avoid the A25 in the direction Socx-Lille from 17:00 to 20:00
Avoid the A13 in the direction Caen-Paris from 15:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A11 in the direction Nantes-Angers from 16:00 to 19:00
Avoid the A10 in the direction Poitiers-Orléans from 17:00 to 22:00
Avoid the A7 in the direction Orange-Lyon from 12:00 to 22:00
Avoid the A71 in the direction Bourges-Orléans from 16:00 to 20:00
Avoid the Mont Blanc Tunnel (N205) returning to France from 12:00 to 23:00
Full information on traffic conditions throughout the weekend and maps of the worst affected areas can be found on the Bison Futé website.
Some general suggestions on how to avoid the worst of traffic jams can be seen in our article here.
