Traffic warnings in France as Christmas holidays begin: which roads to avoid?
Roads are expected to be especially busy near the capital
Roads along international borders are expected to be busy
Goran Jakus / Shutterstock
Heavy traffic is expected across France this evening (December 20) as people depart to visit family for the Christmas holiday season.
Traffic watchdog Bison Futé has placed the entirety of France at a level two ‘orange’ warning for traffic in the departing direction (leaving major cities) today.
In the Île-de-France capital region, this rises to a red warning, the second highest possible.
Despite busy traffic today, “the fact that Christmas Day falls on Wednesday should mean that departures are spread out between Friday and Tuesday,” the site states, preventing extreme build up on major roads.
The only warnings in place between December 21 - 24 are tier-two orange warnings in the Île-de-France area. Elsewhere, traffic should be at normal levels or only slightly higher than normal.
Which roads will be busiest today?
“All major roads are expected to be busy” on December 20, Bison Futé says, but the busiest will be those heading towards the Alps (A43) and the Mediterranean (A7 and A50), as well as the Mont-Blanc tunnel.
Roads near France’s borders will also be busy, including the A1, A25, A31 and A35.
Read more: Tourists, foreign residents: How France’s new Schengen border checks will work
Near Paris, the A3, A86 and A6B roads will be busy, alongside the major A6 and A10 motorways.
The accumulation of commuters, departing drivers, and those travelling towards shopping centres for last-minute Christmas gifts will exacerbate traffic further into the evening than elsewhere.
- Official advice from Bison Futé for drivers today is:
- Leave or pass through the Île-de-France region before 10:00
- Avoid the A1 motorway, between Paris and Lille, from 15:00 and 19:00
- Avoid the A25 motorway, between Lille and Socx, from 16:00 to 19:00
- Avoid the A31 motorway, between Nancy and Luxembourg, from 16:00 to 19:00
- Avoid the A7 motorway, between Vienne and Marseille, from 16:00 to 19:00
- Avoid the A50 motorway, between Marseille and Toulon, from 15:00 to 21:00
- Avoid the A46 motorway and the N346 national road for the eastern Lyon bypass, from 14:00 to 20:00
- Avoid the Mont-Blanc tunnel (N205), between France and Italy, from 14:00 to 19:00
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