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Heavy traffic alerts: what to expect on roads in France this weekend

We detail the major routes and times to avoid as summer holidays near their end

There ‘will be very ‘very difficult’ traffic conditions around all of France this weekend Pic: Goran Jakus / Shutterstock

There will be heavy traffic mainly heading away from France’s tourist spots this weekend as the school summer holidays near their end. This is the penultimate weekend before schools go back and many employees return to work. 

Traffic service Bison Futé has said that traffic will be “very difficult” all weekend on roads leading away from holiday hotspots, mainly coastal areas. 

Roads will be particularly busy around the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and the Mediterranean coast. 

Bison Futé has not labelled any area as black, meaning “extremely difficult”. 

Read more: Flight deals, ‘cockroaches in trains’: eight France travel updates

Roads to avoid: Friday, August 19

Heading away from tourist hotspots

  • Avoid the A13 motorway between Rouen and Paris, between 17:00 to 19:00
  • Avoid the A8 motorway between Nice and Aix-en-Provence, from 14:00 to 18:00,
  • Avoid the A61 motorway between Narbonne and Toulouse, from 16:00 to 19:00,
  • Avoid the Mont-Blanc tunnel towards France, from 13:00 to 21:00 

Roads to avoid: Saturday, August 20

Heading towards tourist hotspots

  • Leave or drive through the Ile-de-France region before 10:00
  • Avoid the A13 motorway between Paris and Rouen, from 11:00 to 14:00
  • Avoid the A11 motorway between Paris and Le Mans, from 12:00 to 18:00
  • Avoid the A10 motorway between Orléans and Tours, from 10:00 to 17:00 and between Bordeaux and Poitiers, from 11:00 to 16:00
  • Avoid the A6 motorway between Beaune and Lyon, from 10:00 to 17:00,
  • Avoid the A7 motorway between Lyon and Orange, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
  • Avoid the A20 motorway between Limoges and Brive-la-Gaillarde, from 11:00 to 17:00
  • Avoid the A71 motorway between Orléans and Clermont-Ferrand, from 10:00 to 16:00
  • Avoid the A62 motorway between Bordeaux and Toulouse, from 11:00 to 17:00,
  • Avoid the A61 motorway between Toulouse and Narbonne, from 10:00 to 15:00

Heading away from tourist hotspots

  • Drive through or back to the Ile-de-France region before 14:00
  • Avoid the A11 motorway between Le Mans and Paris, from 11:00 to 14:00
  • Avoid the A10 motorway between Bordeaux and Poitiers, from 10:00 to 15:00
  • Avoid the A6 motorway between Lyon and Beaune, from 13:00 to 17:00
  • Avoid the A7 motorway between Orange and Salon-de-Provence, from 9:00 to 14:00
  • Avoid the A8 motorway between Nice and Aix-en-Provence, from 10:00 to 13:00
  • Avoid the A9 motorway between Spain and Orange, from 10:00 to 14:00
  • Avoid the A71 motorway between Clermont-Ferrand and Bourges, from 15:00 to 18:00 and between Bourges and Orléans, from 9:00 to 12:00
  • Avoid the A61 motorway between Narbonne and Toulouse, from 10:00 to 15:00
  • Avoid the A75 motorway between Montpellier and Clermont-Ferrand, from 12:00 to 14:00
  • Avoid the Mont-Blanc tunnel in the direction of France, from 16:00 to 21:00 (waiting time more than one hour)

Roads to avoid: Sunday, August 21

Heading towards tourist hotspots

Avoid the A7 motorway between Lyon and Orange, from 15:00 to 21:00

Avoid the A9 motorway between Montpellier and Narbonne, from 15:00 to 17:00

Avoid the A62 motorway between Bordeaux and Toulouse, from 16:00 to 21:00

Avoid the A61 motorway between Toulouse and Narbonne, from 15:00 to 17:00

Heading away from tourist hotspots

Drive through or back to the Ile-de-France region before 11:00 am

Avoid the A13 motorway between Rouen and Paris, from 17:00 to 19:00

Avoid the A10 motorway near Bordeaux, from 11:00 to 16:00

Avoid the A6 motorway between Lyon and Paris, from 15:00 to 18:00

Avoid the A71 motorway between Clermont-Ferrand and Orléans, from 12:00 to 17:00

Avoid the A62 motorway between Toulouse and Bordeaux, from 11:00 to 13:00

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