Red alerts for traffic across France this weekend
Traffic across France is expected to be exceptionally heavy this weekend for journeys to and from the south and major holiday destinations, especially on Saturday August 17.
Friday August 16 (today)
Traffic forecaster no problems for anyone leaving for their holidays today (鈥渄eparture direction鈥�; Friday August 16), but there are likely to be more issues on the roads for anyone coming back home (鈥渞eturn direction鈥�).
There is an orange alert (third-most severe level) for most of the country in this direction, and a red alert (second-most severe alert, just under the most-severe black), in the Provence-Alpes-C么te d'Azur area, especially between 12h and 16h.
Saturday August 17
Bison Fut茅 Saturday as 鈥渞ed鈥� for the entire country, for travellers ending their holidays and coming back to the major cities (returns).
The A10 motorway near Bordeaux is expected to be especially busy, as is the A62 between Bordeaux, Toulouse and Narbonne; and the A9 between Narbonne and Montpellier.
For those driving south (departures), there is a red alert in the south of the country - including in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie and the Provence-Alpes-C么te d'Azur - and an orange alert for the north.
Drivers are also warned to avoid the Mont-Blanc tunnel towards Italy between 16h and 19h on Saturday, as queues of up to 30 minutes are expected.
Sunday August 18
Sunday will not be as gridlocked, the , with a green rating (no problems) for those leaving the major cities, across the entire country.
For those returning from holiday, however, there is an 鈥渙range鈥� alert across most of the country, with a 鈥渞ed鈥� warning in the Auvergne-Rh么ne-Alpes region. Queues of 30 minutes to an hour are expected through the Mont-Blanc tunnel from Italy.
Drivers are warned to avoid the Ile-de-France region, especially before 12h.
