Cross-country weekend: 30km of traffic jams this Friday before a black Saturday, August 2nd on the roads

It's a long weekend ahead for motorists ready to hit the road for their holidays . As every year, the crossover between "July" and "August" holidaymakers will result in significant traffic on the roads of France, between Friday, August 1st and Monday, August 4th inclusive.

The first difficulties were expected as early as Friday, August 1st . In the direction of departures, the north-eastern quarter, the Mediterranean arc and the west of the country were colored orange, indicating a "difficult" situation, while the other regions experienced "very difficult" traffic. In Île-de-France, the slowdowns were spread out over the whole day, until "the night of Friday to Saturday" . In the direction of returns, traffic was heavy "on the axes leaving from the south-eastern quarter" , such as the A9, the A7 or the A75.

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Slowdowns were observed on this first day of the back-and-forth. In total, at midnight, 30 kilometers of traffic jams were reported, with a peak of 980 kilometers of traffic jams recorded at 4:55 p.m. The roads were particularly busy in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and along the Mediterranean coast.

The peak of the difficulties will be reached on Saturday, August 2 , the worst day of the summer on the roads. In the direction of departures, the entire country is classified in black, indicating "extremely difficult" traffic. "Very heavy traffic is expected towards the Atlantic coast (A10, A63, A11), the Mediterranean coast (A7, A9, A61) and for the crossing of the Massif Central (A75, A20)" , notes Bison futé. The same in Île-de-France, where the roads will be busy from early morning, on the A10 and the A6, as well as on the A86 and the A6B.

In the opposite direction, France is colored orange, with the exception of the Mediterranean arc, which is red. The A9, A7 and A75 will be among the busiest roads, as will the A10 and A63. Around Paris, "returns will also be recorded between mid-afternoon and early evening."

The roads will also remain busy on Sunday, August 3. In the direction of departures, the country is classified as orange. The A10, A7, A9 and A75 will be busy "from late morning until late afternoon," as will the A6 and A10 in Île-de-France. In the opposite direction, the situation will be calmer. "Congestion will be localized in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes [...] and on the Mediterranean coast (A9, A54 and A8)," according to the public service.

The last disruptions will occur on Monday, August 4. In the direction of departures, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, as well as the Mediterranean arc, will see numerous traffic jams, particularly on the "A7, A8, A9 motorways and the national road 85" . In the opposite direction, slowdowns will occur in the southeast as well as in the northeast quarter of the country. Here again, the A7, the A8, the A9 and the A6 will be heavily used.