Overview
- Bison Futé issued forecasts on Thursday saying Friday 21 August and especially Saturday 22 August will be the busiest days for returns from holidays across France.
- Traffic will be strongest moving inland from Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts toward large cities, with many southern departments—including Bouches‑du‑Rhône, Vaucluse, Var and Alpes‑Maritimes—marked red for very difficult conditions.
- Drivers are warned to avoid key autoroutes in peak hours such as the A7, A8, A9, A10, A63, A62 and A75 and to expect jams that start in mid‑morning and stretch into the evening.
- In Île‑de‑France traffic is expected to remain dense late into the night and the A13 is likely to face problems from mid‑afternoon, so Bison Futé advises crossing or joining the Paris region before mid‑day or after late evening.
- Bison Futé is the public road‑information service that issues color‑coded maps and advisories used by drivers and media, and its forecast notes that the approaching school year concentrates return flows and could extend evening peaks and local congestion into Monday 24 August.