Summer’s here, French schools break up at the end of this week, and the time is right for driving down the autoroute for a well-earned holiday getaway. 

The trouble is that tens of thousands of other people have exactly the same idea, which means that key roads out of the cities to the big holiday destinations on the coasts, or in the mountains get jammed with traffic.

Trains are also likely to be busy on Friday night and over the weekend as families make their getaway.

France’s roads monitor Bison Futé has issued its first red travel warnings of the summer holiday season, on Friday and Saturday – the first weekend of the grandes vacances.

Traffic will be heavy on most major routes in the north-west and south, heading out of towns and cities and towards popular holiday locations, as well as from the Ile-de-France region, particularly on Friday and Saturday, it warned, while on Sunday, it forecast heavy traffic on the main routes in the west, north and Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region.

The daily breakdown is as follows:

On Friday, July 5th, travel conditions will be difficult throughout the country, and very difficult in the greater Paris Île-de-France region – where a red travel alert will be in force – from early afternoon until early evening. 

Expect slow-moving traffic on routes serving the north-east (A2, A31), Normandy, Brittany, the Loire region (A11, A13) and the south (A7, A50, A63, A89). 

In the Île-de-France region, traffic will be very heavy from late morning towards the various toll areas, particularly on the A6 and A10, the Boulevard Périphérique around Paris, the A86 and the A6B. 

Difficult driving conditions around the capital will increase in the afternoon as commuter traffic joins the holiday getaway crowd, meaning traffic will remain very heavy well into the evening.

Specifically, Bison Futé advises that, wherever possible on Friday, motorists should:

• avoid driving in the Île-de-France region after 12noon;
• avoid the A10 near Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines from 12noon to 9pm;
• avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange from 3pm to 5pm;
• avoid the A6 near Fleury from 1pm to 11pm;
• avoid the A89 between Lyon and Bordeaux from 3pm to 9pm;
• avoid the A13 between Paris and Rouen from 7pm to 9pm;
• avoid the A63 between Bordeaux and Spain from 6pm to 8pm;
• avoid the Mont-Blanc tunnel, between France and Italy from 1pm to 8pm.

On Saturday, July 6th, Bison Futé forecasts ‘very difficult’ travel conditions across the country, declaring the first nationwide ‘red’ travel alert. 

The heaviest traffic is expected on routes serving western regions (A11, A13), the south (A7, A9, A10), north-east (A2, A25, A3) and Brittany (N165), and the Alps (A43). 

In Île-de-France, traffic will be very heavy towards toll areas on the A6 and A10 motorways from early morning. From mid-morning onwards, traffic will pick up sharply, and the main radial and ring roads converging on these routes could in turn experience traffic problems of varying degrees of severity, depending on the sector. The A13 motorway could also experience traffic problems from mid-morning.

It specifically advises that motorists should:

• Avoid driving across the Ile-de-France region after 6am;
• avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange from 9am to 4pm, and between Orange and Marseille from 11am to 4pm;
• avoid the A10 between Paris and Orléans from 8am to 12noon, between Orléans and Poitiers from 9am to 2pm, and between Poitiers and Bordeaux from 1pm to 5pm;
• avoid the A11 between Angers and Nantes from 10am to 2pm;
• avoid the A9 between Orange and Montpellier from 10am to 4pm, between Montpellier and Narbonne from 11am to 3pm, and between Narbonne and Spain from 4pm to 6pm;
• avoid the A43 between Lyon and Chambéry from 12noon to 2pm;
• avoid the A75 between Clermont-Ferrand and Montpellier from 10am to 4pm;
• avoid the Mont-Blanc tunnel (N205), heading towards Italy from 10am to 5pm.

Traffic conditions are set to ease on Sunday, July 7th, but will still be heavy in the north, west, and in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region. 

The A7 motorway will be particularly busy between Lyon and Orange throughout the day, while, in the Ile-de-France region, traffic will be heavier than usual on the A6 and A10.

Bison Fute particularly advises motorists travelling on Sunday to:

• Avoid driving across the Île-de-France region after 6am;
• avoid the A10 near Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines from 8am to 1pm, near Orléans from 9am to 3pm, and between Poitiers and Bordeaux from 12pm to 2pm;
• avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange from 5pm to 7pm, and between Salon-de-Provence and Marseille from 4pm to 8pm;
• avoid the A63 between Bordeaux and Bayonne from 12noon to 2pm;
• avoid the A75 between Clermont-Ferrand and Montpellier from 11am to 1pm;
• avoid the Mont-Blanc tunnel (N205), heading into Italy, from 2pm to 5pm.