Schools in Zone C – Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse and Versailles – break up for two weeks at the end of Friday, and many are taking advantage of the holidays to get away for a while. 

France’s roads watchdog Bison Futé has warned that the increased traffic on the road will lead to some travel issues, particularly around Paris, which it has placed on orange alert on Friday – indicating ‘difficult’ travel conditions on key routes.

In its detailed forecasts, Bison futé specifies that traffic will be heavy towards the toll gates of the A10 and A6, for most of the day on Friday and Saturday.

On Saturday, traffic is expected to intensify from mid-morning. Bison Futé advises therefore avoiding travel in Ile-de-France after 8am to escape the worst of the conditions. The A13, which connects the capital and Normandy, is also expected to see  tricky driving conditions from mid-morning.

Elsewhere, and for all of the first holiday weekend, traffic levels are forecast to remain at standard levels.

The spring holidays are staggered in France with Zone C starting on April 5th, Zone A (central and western France) starting on April 12th and Zone B (northern France plus Aix-Marseille) starting on April 19th. The holidays last for two weeks.