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Driving in France

Driving in France

Postby Big Wheeler » Wed Dec 04, 2019 5:30 pm

For those who are travelling through France over the next week or two,you should be aware that due to the unpopularity of Macron and government policies some of the natives have started revolting.Gilets Jaunes,etc.
Amongst other things some refineries have been blockaded and some petrol stations have run out of fuel.
There may also be an occasional blockade or road restriction.
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Re: Driving in France

Postby Thatch1 » Wed Dec 04, 2019 8:33 pm

Are there any black spots in France to avoid, or is all over the country?
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Re: Driving in France

Postby A.N.Other » Wed Dec 04, 2019 9:27 pm

If it happens it will be wildcat but don't underestimate their cunning and effectiveness.

They are very clever when picking their targets to cause maximum disruption with minimum resources in order to spread as wide as possible, more often than not they will be supported by farmers and it's pretty impressive what can be achieved with just one or two stategically placed tractors.

Don't bank on the police doing much, they tacitly support the protesters and will simply stand by and watch - even when they set light to tyres to block roads.


I lived in France for 11 years BTW and the stock advice at such times was to not plan on driving anywhere but if you absolutely had to then to stick to the small backroads.

That's not much use if you're trying to get from Spain to a channel port to get to UK though and in that case my only advice would be to forget it and sail from Santander or Bilbao.
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Re: Driving in France

Postby Big Wheeler » Thu Dec 05, 2019 1:23 am

They are expected to target the railways and roads in larger cities.From what i hear Paris,Rennes and Bordeaux are favourites.
There are alternative routes to everywhere in France using roads that used to be Routes Nationales before their motorways were built.
On a better note with the current rate of exchange you could fill up in Spain at 1.15 1.20€/litre which is around £1/lt or £4.50/gall.
A full tank from Jaca or Pamplona will get me to the UK without filling up anyway.
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Re: Driving in France

Postby A.N.Other » Thu Dec 05, 2019 4:36 am

Routes Nationales are fools gold because they are prime targets for protesters.

It only takes a couple of strategically parked lorries or tractors to totally paralyse motorways - last time they even pulled down overhead gantries to do the job - which leaves them with the bulk of their resources free to deploy liberally on the RN network.

That's why I said that the only way to get anywhere with a sporting chance of avoiding total stoppage will be on the smaller backroads and good luck getting from Spain to UK on a tank of fuel on those, not to mention that in the majority they will be limited to a maximum of 80kph and 50 or 30kph through the innumerable hamlets and villages you'll pass through on tbe way.

Looking on the bright side of that though it should be a pretty drive plus it's highly probable if not certain that they will once again destroy or at least disable virtually all the speed cameras so your chances of getting nicked for speeding will be next to nil, that's assuming of course that you can even achieve 80kph in the first place given all the extra traffic you'll be sharing the road with.
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Re: Driving in France

Postby maisiesdad » Thu Dec 05, 2019 10:01 am

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Re: Driving in France

Postby A.N.Other » Thu Dec 05, 2019 12:14 pm

A potentially useful site for managing holiday travel but nothing at all to do with strikes or protests etc.
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Re: Driving in France

Postby maisiesdad » Thu Dec 05, 2019 2:30 pm

It probably will when there is something to report. This website might be easier. https://www.autoroutes.fr/en/Realtime-t ... mation.htm
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Re: Driving in France

Postby A.N.Other » Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:43 pm

I wouldn't bank on it!

Unfortunately the 2nd site is of equally limited use as it only covers the Autoroutes and not the RN's or smaller roads.
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Re: Driving in France

Postby maisiesdad » Thu Dec 05, 2019 9:08 pm

Well there you go, you can lead a horse to water........ Using the back roads as the only way to "avoid total stoppage" is absolutely daft.
If I was driving from France to Spain which I frequently do, living as I have done in Brittany for last 15 years, and driven the 1,000 miles back & forth at least twice a year I would be taking advantage of either or both of the above really informative websites, which you dismiss as of limited use.
Of the 580 roadblocks set up by the Gilet Jaunes last time only a few toll booths were targeted. Surely the intelligent way to proceed would be to take advantage of what is happening realtime on the main routes and then, if a main route toll booth was targeted, take a decision on whether to take a chance on a minor route detour round it. The alternative of blundering blindly onto the minor roads where Gilets Jaunes have mainly barricaded roundabouts in the past is absolutely crackers, similar to the bumbling bozo leading us to the cliff edge.
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