Travel warnings in place in France for Christmas weekend
An extremely busy weekend is anticipated on French roads as millions of people embark on their Christmas getaways, meanwhile there is disruption on train services.
Give yourself plenty of time to get to your French holiday destination this weekend, as millions of other motorists are planning getaways of their own, roads watchdog Bison Futé has warned.
With planes and trains also full this weekend, automobiles may seem like the perfect festive escape vehicle, but don’t expect French roads to be free and clear, the traffic-flow information centre said.
It has issued a red travel alert – forecasting ‘very difficult’ travel conditions – in the Paris region and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on Friday and Saturday, while the rest of the country is on the less-severe orange level – merely ‘difficult’ travel.
On Friday, December 22nd, traffic will prove difficult in the greater Paris area of Île-de-France and large cities across France, with normal work and pre-weekend travel conditions made worse by additional Christmas journeys. Expect delays around commercial areas, because of heavy shopper traffic, as well as around motorway toll areas as travellers head off for the holidays early.
Meanwhile, Bison Futé warns of ‘significant slowdowns’ departing from and heading towards Lyon, particularly on the A7 in the Rhône valley, while traffic difficulties are also expected around all major cities.
It specifically urged drivers to:
- leave or cross Île-de-France before 10am;
- avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange, from 12 noon to midnight, and in the other direction between Orange and Lyon from 1pm to 5pm;
- avoid the A43 between Chambéry and Lyon from 4pm to 6pm.
On Saturday, December 23rd, travel is forecast to be ‘very difficult’ in Ile-de France all day, while motorists heading out of the cities to holiday destinations and seasonal shoppers are expected to create bottlenecks in every city in France.
Drivers are particularly urged to:
- leave or cross Île-de-France before 6am;
- avoid the A6 between Beaune and Lyon, from 7am to 5pm.
- avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange, from 11am to 5pm.
On Tuesday, December 26th, traffic will again be heavy from early afternoon on main roads heading into Ile de France, particularly the A6 and A10 motorways – with the advice being to reach or cross Île-de-France before 2pm, if possible.
Meanwhile SNCF says that most domestic train services should run on time after signal failure caused major disruption in the Normandy area on Thursday.
For those crossing between France and the UK, services on the Eurostar and Le Shuttle are expected to run as normal on Friday and Saturday after a surprise strike halted all traffic on Thursday. However, rebooking might be difficult for people whose journey was disrupted on Thursday - full details here.
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Give yourself plenty of time to get to your French holiday destination this weekend, as millions of other motorists are planning getaways of their own, roads watchdog Bison Futé has warned.
With planes and trains also full this weekend, automobiles may seem like the perfect festive escape vehicle, but don’t expect French roads to be free and clear, the traffic-flow information centre said.
It has issued a red travel alert – forecasting ‘very difficult’ travel conditions – in the Paris region and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on Friday and Saturday, while the rest of the country is on the less-severe orange level – merely ‘difficult’ travel.
On Friday, December 22nd, traffic will prove difficult in the greater Paris area of Île-de-France and large cities across France, with normal work and pre-weekend travel conditions made worse by additional Christmas journeys. Expect delays around commercial areas, because of heavy shopper traffic, as well as around motorway toll areas as travellers head off for the holidays early.
Meanwhile, Bison Futé warns of ‘significant slowdowns’ departing from and heading towards Lyon, particularly on the A7 in the Rhône valley, while traffic difficulties are also expected around all major cities.
It specifically urged drivers to:
- leave or cross Île-de-France before 10am;
- avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange, from 12 noon to midnight, and in the other direction between Orange and Lyon from 1pm to 5pm;
- avoid the A43 between Chambéry and Lyon from 4pm to 6pm.
On Saturday, December 23rd, travel is forecast to be ‘very difficult’ in Ile-de France all day, while motorists heading out of the cities to holiday destinations and seasonal shoppers are expected to create bottlenecks in every city in France.
Drivers are particularly urged to:
- leave or cross Île-de-France before 6am;
- avoid the A6 between Beaune and Lyon, from 7am to 5pm.
- avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange, from 11am to 5pm.
On Tuesday, December 26th, traffic will again be heavy from early afternoon on main roads heading into Ile de France, particularly the A6 and A10 motorways – with the advice being to reach or cross Île-de-France before 2pm, if possible.
Meanwhile SNCF says that most domestic train services should run on time after signal failure caused major disruption in the Normandy area on Thursday.
For those crossing between France and the UK, services on the Eurostar and Le Shuttle are expected to run as normal on Friday and Saturday after a surprise strike halted all traffic on Thursday. However, rebooking might be difficult for people whose journey was disrupted on Thursday - full details here.
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