Weekend of August 24 and 25: a Friday that is already difficult for those returning from summer vacation

About ten days before the start of the school year, the French (for those who were lucky enough to leave) return from their holidays. The situation on the roads is therefore going to be more complicated from this Friday.

On 23 August, the road classification is orange in terms of laps and even red in a large southern half, from the Atlantic to the Alps. The A10 in the west, the A63 and the A7 in the Rhône valley will be particularly busy in the afternoon.

A Red Friday in the southern half

This Friday, the races will be classified as orange in terms of laps throughout France, and red in Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and certain departments of Occitania.

In detail, Bison Futé advises avoiding:

• the A10 motorwaybetween Bordeaux and Poitiers, from 4 to 7 p.m.
• the A63 motorwaybetween Bayonne and Bordeaux, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
• the A7 motorwaybetween Marseille and Orange, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from Orange to Lyon, from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• the A9 motorwaybetween Spain and Narbonne, from 12 to 15 hours and between Narbonne and Orange, from 15 to 19 hours.
• the A75 motorway between Massiac and Clermont-Ferrand, from 3 to 8 p.m.
• the A61 motorwaybetween Narbonne and Carcassonne, from 3 to 8 p.m.,
• HE Mont Blanc tunnel (N205), between Italy and France, from 12 to 20 hours.

The return of the Olympic routes to Île-de-France

In the Paris region, if Friday is classified as orange, the return journeys will be combined with weekend departures, which will complicate traffic from midday. Bison Futé advises arriving or crossing Paris and the Paris region before 2 p.m.

“The first slowdowns related to refunds could appear from the beginning of the afternoon on the A10 motorway, between the Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines toll booth and the town of Wissous, and on the A6 motorway, between the municipalities of Corbeil-Essonnes and Wissous,” the organisation specifies in a press release.

Please also note that since Thursday 22 August, the Olympic lanes have been active again (see our article here), which further complicates traffic on the ring road in particular.

A red Saturday all over France

Saturday is classified as red throughout the country in terms of returns. “In particular, significant difficulties are expected in the south-east (mainly the A7, A9 and A75 motorways) and on the west side (A63, A10 and N165),” the organisation specifies.

“In Île-de-France, the benefits will be significant,” says Bison Futé, who advises avoiding major roads from the start of the day and crossing or arriving in Île-de-France before 2 p.m. Note that Monday is also classified as red in Île-de-France, a week before the start of the school year and two days before the start of the Paralympic Games.

“On Saturday 24 August, traffic will be complicated in the south-easterly direction on the A7, A8 and A9 motorways,” Bison Futé also stressed.