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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”.

⚠️ #BisonFuté annonce un weekend de l'Ascension en 🔴 & ⚫ sur les routes. Soyez prudents et consultez les prévisions détaillées avant de prendre le volant 👉 https://t.co/HpSqsmPeyL pic.twitter.com/hpKxrBVv0m

— Sécurité routière (@RoutePlusSure) May 25, 2022

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

Anonymous - 30 May 2022 at 00:24 CEST

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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Can I use my American Express card in France?

While many European establishments do accept American Express cards, outside of the US they are significantly less common and many businesses, especially smaller ones, refuse them.

Why are American Express cards not accepted?

According to Forbes, it has to do with the fact that American Express is known for charging “higher merchant fees than other credit card networks.

“In other words: It’s more cost-efficient for many businesses (especially low-margin ones) to take Visa or Mastercard instead.”

The business magazine also noted that American Express credit card transactions made up just 4.61 percent globally. Whereas Visa and Mastercard transactions were significantly more common – making up 38 percent and 24 percent of the market share respectively.

READ MORE: Is it a good idea to rent a car in Paris?

What should I do if I have an AmEx card?

Travel blogs often recommend that AmEx holders bring along a Visa or Mastercard as well, in case they run into issues.

You can also consult American Express’ interactive map, which shows the businesses in France that definitely accept the card.

However, the map may not show every business that accepts AmEx, so feel free to ask (est-ce que vous acceptez les cartes ‘American Express’?) before sitting down for a meal or making a purchase.

You can also look to see whether the store displays an AmEx sticker in the window.

Generally, American Express cards are less likely to be accepted in small businesses – neighbourhood restaurants, cafés or independent shops – due to the reasons outlined above. You have a better chance of your AmEx card being accepted in larger companies and chains.

It’s also not accepted by all French apps for payment – so for example if you’re buying national rail tickets you can use AmEx for the SNCF Connect app, but it is not accepted by the Paris public transport app Ile de France Mobilities (which offers digital Metro, bus and tram tickets).

Any other things to consider?

Contactless payment (sans contact) is becoming much more common in France, albeit only for lower-value purchases. If your AmEx card does not have the chip that allows you to tap and pay, then you may want to take cash out or bring another card along.

If you still have an old-style card that requires swiping and signing, be aware that most smaller French businesses do not have this payment option.

ATMs should accept your AmEx card, so you should not have any issues being able to put in your pin number and take out cash, though there may be fees.

You’ll also want to look into the transaction fees associated with your card. Some AmEx cards offer the benefit of no foreign transaction fees, while others still charge them.

Finally, while AmEx no longer requires cardholders to inform them ahead of time if they will be travelling abroad, they still recommend “keeping your contact information updated in case we need to contact you while you’re away” and “downloading the Amex mobile app to conveniently manage your account on the go.”

READ MORE: Brits, Americans or Germans – who visits France the most?

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