On the road in France this summer?
To avoid long waits and traffic jams, try in particular to avoid all Saturdays in July classified as red (travelling from north to south) and 1st & 8th August, which are both ‘black days’ (circulation extrêmement difficile). Most Saturdays for travel back from south to north in August are red, with the worst weekend being around the 15th & 16th.
Most Saturdays throughout July and August are classed ‘red’ (circulation très difficile) but nobody is quite sure how traffic trends might change this year as Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on travel plans.
Check out other periods and hotspots to avoid at www.bisonfute.equipement.gouv.fr or ring 0 800 100 200 for real time info. (0033 892 68 78 88 from abroad)
‘Le chassé-croisé des juillettistes et des aoûtiens’……..
… describes the traffic chaos on the roads of France late July/early August as the whole world and his wife heads off to or home from their hols, and the end of both months when the hols are over.
A chassé-croisé is actually a dance step where dancers criss cross and change partners.
‘Juillettistes’ describes holiday makers heading off or home in July and ‘aoûtiens’ are August travelers.
This crossover of the “juilletistes and aoutiens” sees millions of people moving across the country and traffic monitor Bison Fute issues one of its rare ‘black alerts’ forecasting more than 600km of jams.
Motorways along the Mediterranean coast, and main routes from north to south and vice versa are expected to be very busy at these times. Check out BISON FUTE, government funded advice agency which monitors traffic and gives useful tips and advice for avoiding the hotspots, with a ‘realtime’ map and info constantly updated.
