If you are planning to take the car during the Christmas holiday period, it is on this date, which is neither December 24 nor 25, that the traffic jams will be the most painful during this end-of-year period. .
Like many, you are probably planning to travel during the Christmas holidays. Every year, millions of French people take the opportunity to celebrate with family around a big (and long) meal. But the foie gras, turkey with chestnuts and the log are worth it! Taking your car on December 24 and 25 to reach your host almost always means traffic jams. The massive flow of vehicles in a tight space of time clogs the roads and travel times quickly increase by several minutes.
But this year, New Year’s Eve and Christmas days won’t be the worst to hit the road. The forecast for December 24 only warns of traffic in Île-de-France, which is quite dense throughout the day, while traffic should be quite fluid across the entire territory on December 24 and 25. Good news for the French who plan to go out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On the other hand, another day of the holiday period should be much more difficult for motorists. It will take place well before Christmas.
Bison Futé anticipates major traffic difficulties on Friday December 20, from the start of the school holidays. The map of France will be orange everywhere in the direction of departures this Friday and even red in Île-de-France. According to the road traffic reference site, many French people have planned to leave for a very long extended weekend, with mass departures of Parisians towards the provinces. And if the forecasts predict difficulties from the beginning of the afternoon around large cities, such as Lyon, Lille and Marseille, the main roads should be slow from mid-morning in the Paris region.
The worst window will be from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., particularly when approaching and around the famous Saint-Arnoult toll. This is the only sector classified red of the day but it promises to be particularly tough… We will have to be patient. These traffic jams will be reinforced by the influx of cars near large shopping centers and the commute to and from work of Ile-de-France residents.
If you are planning to hit the road this Friday, be patient, and if it is possible to do so, do not hesitate to postpone your departure until the next day. Apart from slowdowns in Île-de-France, traffic should be much less dense this Saturday than the day before. And New Year’s Eve will only take place three days later… Here are Bison Futé’s instructions for this day, Friday, December 20:
- Leave or cross Île-de-France before 10 a.m.,
- Avoid the A1 motorway, between Paris and Lille, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.,
- Avoid the A25 motorway, between Lille and Socx, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.,
- Avoid the A31 motorway, between Nancy and Luxembourg, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.,
- Avoid the A7 motorway, between Vienne and Marseille, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.,
- Avoid the A50 motorway, between Marseille and Toulon, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.,
- Avoid the A46 motorway and the N346 to bypass East Lyon, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Avoid the Mont-Blanc tunnel (N205), between France and Italy, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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