Why does France come to a standstill at the end of July?

Le chassé-croisé

Only the French could invent a special expression for millions of people going on holiday at exactly the same time. Every summer, France stages one of Europe’s biggest annual migrations as the  juillettistes hand over the beaches to the aoûtiens in a carefully choreographed nationwide swap that turns the country’s motorways into giant car parks.

At the end of July and the beginning of August, millions of motorists head in opposite directions as the juillettistes return home and the aoûtiens set off for their holidays. The French call it le chassé-croisé…

Why? Because unlike the UK, where people head off whenever they fancy, many French companies traditionally closed for the full month or at least several weeks in August. Although that’s changing, the habit of taking holidays en masse is still very much alive.

If you happen to be driving in France on the last weekend of July or the first weekend of August, don’t be surprised if the motorway suddenly resembles the world’s longest car park. Welcome to le chassé-croisé des juillettistes et des aoûtiens—one of the great annual French migrations.

A chassé-croisé is originally a dance step in which partners cross paths and swap places. In France, however, it describes something rather less elegant: millions of holidaymakers travelling in opposite directions at exactly the same time.

The juillettistes are those whose summer holidays fall in July, while the aoûtiens take their break in August. As one group heads home, the other heads for the coast, the mountains or the countryside, creating a nationwide game of automotive musical chairs.

The busiest period usually falls on the final weekend of July and the first weekend of August. On the worst days, traffic jams can stretch for hundreds of kilometres, especially on motorways leading to the Mediterranean, the Atlantic coast and the Alps. It isn’t unusual for the French traffic authorities to predict more than 600 km of queues across the country.

To help motorists survive the annual exodus, France even has its own traffic oracle: Bison Futé (“Clever Bison”), the government traffic information service. It issues colour-coded forecasts ranging from green (easy going) to the dreaded black alert, reserved for the busiest days of the year. Before setting off, it’s well worth checking its live maps and travel advice.

Of course, if you’re on holiday yourself, there’s an even better strategy: avoid travelling on “Black Saturday” altogether. Spend an extra day by the pool, enjoy a leisurely lunch, and let everyone else sit in the traffic instead.