A perfect storm of high fuel prices, school holidays and a baggage handlers’ strike in Spain mean that travel in France could be a little tricky over the long Easter weekend.
Easter is, traditionally, a busy period for travel in France, and across Europe. And this year, it coincides with the first phase of the Spring school holidays – while the war in the Middle East means higher fuel prices and the possibility of roadblocks.
Roads
The first of France’s staggered Spring school holidays coincide with the Easter weekend, which means that traffic will be much heavier than usual on the roads over the long weekend.
Roads watchdog Bison Futé has issued red travel alerts — indicating ‘very difficult’ travel conditions — on main routes around Paris and in the south-eastern Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on Friday, April 3rd; and in the northwest of the country on Monday, April 6th.
And there may be a bigger problem than the expected high volume of traffic on French roads.
Blockades
French hauliers have announced several planned protests calling for government aid to mitigate spiralling fuel prices in the wake of the war in the Middle East, beginning on Saturday March 28th and lasting for at least a week, possibly longer.
READ ALSO French truckers plan blockades to protest fuel prices
Which brings us to…
Petrol prices
Fuel prices in France have risen sharply as a result of the war in Iran and conflict in the wider Gulf area.
Overall, supermarkets almost always come out as the cheapest places to buy petrol or diesel, often selling it with only a tiny profit margin in order to lure in shoppers.
A government website allows you to compare fuel prices at petrol stations, which is useful if you are on a journey and want to find the cheapest filling stations close to you.
So, you may think it wiser to let French public transport take the strain.
Trains
If you’re planning a long rail trip and haven’t already got a ticket, you might struggle to get one, because Easter is a high-volume travel time.
The good news, however, if you do get hold of a ticket, is that SNCF has few major maintenance and improvement works planned for the holiday period, though works are affecting schedules for some Intercité trains between Paris – Limoges – Toulouse, and Paris – Rodez and Paris – Aurillac.
But what about the …?
Airports
Easter traditionally marks the start of the peak air travel season. Hundreds of thousands of travellers are expected at the country’s airports for the first great long-weekend getaway of 2026. Many are heading south for the holidays.
But that could be problematic. Ground staff at Spanish airports have called a strike – although the planned first day of the walkout on Friday was cancelled at the last minute, action is set to continue into next week and it’s feared the walkout could extend into the French school holidays.
Unions representing airport ground handling workers have announced strikes that could hit travel through Barcelona-El Prat, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Alicante, Tenerife, Madrid-Barajas, Valencia and Ibiza airports, leading to a possible cascade of delays affecting travellers at or heading to airports in France.
There is, however, no planned strike action at any of the French airports, or by French air traffic controllers, for the Easter period.
Meanwhile…
At the borders
Expect delays, too, if you’re travelling between France and the UK. The British government last week alerted tourists travelling to the Schengen area around Easter about the full implementation of the EU’s new Entry/Exit border system (EES), and urged travellers to allow additional time for journeys.
READ ALSO EES LATEST: The key dates when France will enforce new EU border checks
The EES, which replaces the manual stamping of passports with digital records of entries and exits, has been gradually rolled out across the 29 countries of the Schengen area (25 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein) since October 12th 2025.
The rules may not affect you directly, if you’re travelling on an EU passport, but there will be knock-on effects because of those who are.
If you are going to the UK, make sure you are aware of the new rules on ETA, especially if you are a dual national.
