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Traffic across all of France terrible on Sunday

French authorities have warned anyone planning to use the roads that travel will be "extremely difficult" on Sunday as Ascension weekend draws to an end.

Published: 29 May 2022 11:55 CEST
All of France is set to experience long traffic jams on Sunday.
All of France is set to experience long traffic jams on Sunday. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Roads across France will see heavy traffic on Sunday as people return from the countryside to big cities. 

Bison Futé, an agency which provides travel advise, warned that the entire country would experience “extremely difficult traffic”.

Travellers are advised to hit the roads as early as possible and to exercise patience. 

Those using the following roads will experience particular difficulty:

  • In the south: A7, A8, A9, A61 and A75
  • In the Rhône-Alpes: A7
  • In western/central France: A10, A11, A13, A20 and A71
  • In Brittany: A81, A83, N12 and N157
  • In Ile-de-France: A6 and A10.

Anyone returning to Paris in the afternoon is likely to experience significant delays and traffic jams and toll booths. It is unlikely that the roads will clear to normal levels before midnight. 

Those travelling from Italy to France via the Mont Blanc tunnel will also face long waiting times. Traffic is likely to be heaviest from 5pm to 9pm but in reality will be terrible throughout the afternoon. 

You can find more detail about optimal travel times via the Bison Futé website. 

Member comments

  1. Just traveled from Spain into France this morning, A7- A9 to Narbone. Didn’t help having 3 ticket booths closed at the tolls. 2 hours to cover a short part of our journey, then long hold ups on the A61. Our journey time 4.5 hours took 8 hours today

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FRANCE WEATHER

Thunderstorms, floods and traffic: France’s last holiday weekend in May 

The final holiday weekend of May in France is set to be marked by bad weather and difficult driving conditions on busy roads.

Published: 17 May 2024 15:44 CEST
Thunderstorms, floods and traffic: France’s last holiday weekend in May 

Monday, May 20th is a holiday for most of France, marking the Christian festival of Pentecost, which means that many people will enjoy a three-day weekend.

This is the last of four public holidays in France in May 2024, now we need to wait until August for another extra day off work (since the Fête National on July 14th falls on a Sunday this year).

So what can we expect for the long weekend? Well, bad weather and heavy traffic, unfortunately.

The Moselle département, in north-east France, was placed on red weather alert on Friday after hours of heavy rain caused flash flooding.

The red weather alert initially runs until 9pm on Friday, with between 80mm and 100mm of rain expected, while between 70mm and 90mm are predicted in the far north of the neighbouring Bas-Rhin, with up to 70mm expected further south – figures national forecaster Météo-France said approached records for daily rainfall figures in the region.

Orange alerts in the area remain in place on Saturday.

Image: Météo-France

Rain and occasional storms, some bringing hail, are expected to develop across large parts of the country throughout the weekend, with only the Mediterranean areas likely to remain dry on Saturday.

Showers and sunny spells will continue into Sunday and Monday, with occasional thunderstorms in the south-west. Temperatures throughout the weekend should rise to between 15C and 22C.

To make family getaways on the final long weekend of the month even more difficult, roads watchdog Bison Futé predicts ‘difficult’, or ‘very difficult’ travel conditions on key routes across the country. 

Image: Bison Fute

On Friday, traffic is expected to be heavy on routes heading away from major cities towards popular holiday destinations until well into the evening – especially on Paris’s Périphérique and the A86 and A6B, the A7, along the Mediterranean Arc and on the Atlantic seaboard (A11, N165 and A63). 

The A13 is likely to remain closed to traffic between Paris and Vaucresson across the holiday weekend, so drivers from the Paris region wishing to reach Normandy are advised to take the A14, A15 or N12

On Saturday, May 18th, conditions on the roads will be difficult nationwide, particularly on roads serving the Mediterranean arc (A7 and A9) and the Atlantic coast (A63 and N165). In the Île-de-France region, traffic will be heavy from early morning onwards on the A6 and A10. From mid-morning onwards, traffic is expected to intensify significantly. 

Image: Bison Fute

Routes converging on the A10 and A6 could also see traffic problems on Saturday, Bison Futé warned.

No major forecastable traffic problems are expected on Sunday – but, on Monday, May 20th, short breakers will be returning home, leading to heavy traffic across the country, notably on A7 and A9, in the Mediterranean region, and routes serving the west of the country.

Traffic will be heavy on the A10 and A6 in the Île-de-France region from late morning into the evening. The A13, which should be open, could also experience traffic problems from mid-afternoon onwards, and could continue to do so well into the evening.

Across the country banks and public administration offices will close. Some independent shops may close, while larger stores and chains are more likely to be open, but probably with altered opening hours.

Most bars, restaurants and cafés will remain open while public transport will run as normal. 

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