What to expect in France over Pentecost weekend

Monday is Pentecost, the last jour férié of a holiday-heavy May – and the last before the Fête nationale on July 14th. Plenty of people plan to make the most of it, with the weather set to be very hot.

Phew, what a scorcher

A ‘heat dome’ settled over France on Thursday, which will cause temperatures to spike between 10C and 15C above seasonal norms, according to forecasters at Météo France.

On Thursday, temperatures in the southwestern Nouvelle Aquitaine and Occitanie regions broke through the 30C mark, and could reach as high as 35C over the long weekend.

Saturday afternoon’s weather map. Image: Météo France

Anticyclonic conditions are expected to persist over the holiday period, bringing mostly sunny, warm, and even very hot weather to most of the country, with temperatures reaching 30C in the north. 

Minimum temperatures will also continue to rise. Sunday night into Monday is expected to be particularly mild in the west of the country, especially along the Atlantic coast, where the mercury may not fall much below 20C. 

The peak of the early summer heatwave is expected in the first part of next week, between Monday and Wednesday. Nationwide, the average temperature will likely exceed 24C, a record for the month.

Roads watch

Friday is the big travel day for the long weekend with many expected to make an early getaway, roads watchdog Bison Futé forecasts.

It has issued a nationwide red travel alert – indicating very difficult conditions on the roads – for Friday for travel away from major cities and in the direction of popular resorts, and a yellow alert, indicating difficult road conditions, heading towards major cities.

Image: Bison Futé

Heavy traffic is expected on all major highways, until late in the evening, notably on routes to the Atlantic coast, Normandy, Brittany, and the Pays de la Loire, the northeastern borders, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and the Mediterranean coast. 

From mid-afternoon in the Île-de-France region, increased traffic on the A10 and A6, later combining with the evening commute, could lead to persistent traffic difficulties until late in the evening. 

READ ALSO Pentecost: The French public holiday when many work for free

Bison Futé specifically recommends that, on Friday, motorists should avoid:

• Arterial routes in Île-de-France until after 9pm
• the A31 between Nancy and Luxembourg from 6pm to 8pm;
• the A36 between Besançon and Germany from 4pm to 8pm, and between Germany and Besançon until 10pm;
• the A13 between Paris and Caen from 2pm to 10pm;
• the A11 between Le Mans and Angers from 5pm to 7pm;
• the A10 between Paris and Orléans until 9pm, and between Poitiers and Bordeaux from 3pm to 8pm;
• the A7 between Lyon and Orange until 11pm, and between Orange and Marseille from 4pm to 9pm, as well as between Marseille and Orange until 8pm, and between Orange and Lyon from 3pm to 8pm
• the A9 between Orange and Montpellier until 8pm, and between Montpellier and Narbonne until 7pm;
• the A62 between Bordeaux and Toulouse from 5pm to 7pm, and between Toulouse and Bordeaux until 8pm;
• the A61 between Toulouse and Narbonne from 3pm to 8pm;
• the A43 between Lyon and Chambéry from 5pm to 8pm, and between Chambéry and Lyon from 3pm to 9pm;
• the Mont Blanc Tunnel (N205) between France and Italy until 7pm;
• the A46 and National Route 346 for the eastern bypass of Lyon until 4pm;
• the A1 between Lille and Paris from 1pm to 9pm;
• the A8 between Italy and Le Luc from 3pm to 9pm;
• the A10 between Bordeaux and Saintes from 4pm to 9pm

On Saturday, roads in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region will be very busy, particularly toward the mountain ranges and Italy, from early morning through early evening. 

In the greater Paris Île-de-France region, traffic will be heavy heading toward the toll plazas on the A10 and A6 highways starting early in the morning and persisting until mid-afternoon. Additionally, the A13 highway could experience heavy traffic throughout the day.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the heaviest traffic will be concentrated on routes in the far west and north as weekend getawayers head back home, particularly from Brittany and Normandy toward Île-de-France, as well as on roads in the Paris region. 

In Île-de-France, starting in the early afternoon, traffic will be heavy on the A10 and A6 highways. Traffic difficulties or slowdowns could continue late into the evening. Congestion may also be observed on routes leading to the northeast and west of the region. Finally, the A13 highway will experience traffic difficulties from late morning until late in the evening.

Rail and airports

Airports are reported to be running as expected over the three-day weekend, but expect some delays on rail networks, as maintenance works are routinely scheduled for the holiday weekend.