Planes, trains and roads: What to know about travel in France this May
May 2025 is a good month in France if you like time off work - there are
three public holidays
and this year every one of them falls on a Thursday, offering three chances for extended '
pont
' weekends.
It's expected that millions of Frenchies will take the opportunity for a trip, which may mean travel problems.
Trains
A trio of French rail unions have strike notices in place for the month of May – and they are all targeting one or more of the month's three holiday weekends, usually a peak time for train travel.
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At the time of writing, strike notices cover the following days:
Mechanics and technicians have filed a 48-hour strike notice starting on Tuesday, May 6th.
Drivers' union CGT-Cheminots has filed an open-ended strike notice starting on Wednesday, May 7th.
Sud-Rail, representing conductors, plans action between Thursday, May 8th, and Saturday, May 10th.
Sud-Rail's
préavis de grève
covered weekends from April 17th to June 2nd – which means they members can walk out anytime after 7pm each Thursday to 8am the following Monday during the strike notice period.
Negotiations are ongoing so it's still possible that union and bosses will reach a deal and the strikes are called off. Find the latest on the strikes
HERE
.
Important news for Eurostar travellers – Germany's Cologne Central Station will be completely closed to Eurostar traffic between May 3rd and May 18th.
Planes
No news of strikes in the offing so far – and several new flight routes coming into service to and from airports across France as the summer season takes off.
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From May to September, United offers four 10-hour flights per week, between Dulles Airport in Washington DC and Nice. The flights run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
American airlines offers one flight per day from Philadelphia to the Côte d'Azur between May and October.
From May to September, Delta operates daily flights of 10 hours and 15 minutes between Nice and Atlanta, Georgia.
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Air France starts a new direct route connecting Paris Charles de Gaulle to Saudi Arabia beginning May 19th; and will operate four direct flights per week between Charles de Gaulle and Orlando, USA, from May 21st.
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The carrier has also unveiled direct flights between Los Angeles and Nice in May 2025 for the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Ryanair will offer flights three times a week – on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays – between La Rochelle and Dublin, from May 1st.
EasyJet will operate three flights a week between Lyon and Bari, Italy, from May 23rd.
Spanish budget airline Volotea will offer flights from Paris-Orly to the Italian cities of Genoa, Olbia and Turin from May 26th; and to Ancona from May 27th. These will replace existing flights from Charles de Gaulle.
This one actually starts on April 30th, but it's worth mentioning here that newcomer low-cost carrier French Bee will operate four flights per week between Paris-Orly and Montreal – rising to five times a week in the high-summer.
Odyssey Airlines, meanwhile, will offer flights between Nîmes and Ajaccio, from May 31st, and between Nîmes and Barcelona, from May 29th, from Nîmes to Verona, Nîmes to Milan, and Nîmes to Nice from May 30th.
Meanwhile several operators
have dropped their prices for flights from France to the US
, reflecting the falling demand.
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Roads
The plethora of public holidays in May mean it's the unofficial start of the summer holiday season in France. And that, in turn, means there's more traffic on the roads.
France's roads watchdog Bison Futé issued its first nationwide red travel alert for 2025 – indicating 'very difficult' conditions on the country's main routes – over the Easter weekend in April.
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It predicts two more nationwide 'red' travel days in May – the 28th and 29th – with a partial 'black' alert, warning of 'extremely difficult conditions', in northwest France on June 1st.
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More detailed information is not available so far ahead. But, heavier than usual traffic forecast is also forecast for Sunday, May 4th, Wednesday, May 7th, Thursday, May 8th, and Sunday, May 11th.
A yellow alert – 'difficult' conditions on the roads – is in place for Sunday, May 4th, with Bison Futé urging road users heading back to major cities from holiday destinations to:
reach or cross the Île-de-France region before 11am;
avoid the A13 between Caen and Paris from 1pm to 10pm;
avoid the A11 between Nantes and Angers from 3pm to 7pm;
avoid the A10 between Bordeaux and Tours from 1pm to 6pm;
avoid the A9 between Narbonne and Orange from 2pm to 7pm;
avoid the A8 between Italy and Aix-en-Provence from 12noon to 7pm;
avoid the A7 between Orange and Lyon from 2pm to 9pm;
avoid the A61 between Narbonne and Toulouse from 2pm to 7pm.
A second yellow alert, rising to red in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, is in place for Wednesday, May 7th. Motorists heading on holidays or breaks are advised to:
leave or cross the Île-de-France region before 2pm;
avoid the A25 between Lille and Socx from 5pm to 8pm;
avoid the A13 between Rouen and Caen from 4pm to 7pm;
avoid the A11 between Angers and Nantes from 2pm to 8pm;
avoid the A10 between Tours and Poitiers from 12noon to 7pm;
avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange from 3pm to 10pm;
avoid the A8 between Le Luc and Italy from 3pm to 6pm;
avoid the A46 and the N346 road for the eastern Lyon bypass from 5pm to 7pm.
A partial yellow alert, taking in the northwestern quarter and a band heading south-east to Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, is forecast for Thursday, May 8th. Motorists are advised:
avoid the A13 between Rouen and Caen from 10am to 1pm;
avoid the A11 between Chartres and Nantes from 10am to 12noon;
avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange from 9am to 2pm;
avoid the Mont-Blanc tunnel (N205) heading into Italy, from 9am to 12noon.
READ ALSO
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And, on Sunday, May 11th, a national yellow alert – rising to red in the south-east quarter and along the Mediterranean arc – is in place for the country's roads. Bison Fute's advice to motorists is:
reach or cross the Île-de-France before 11am;
avoid the A13 between Caen and Paris from 4pm to 10pm;
avoid the N165 between Quimper and Nantes from 4pm to 9pm;
avoid the A10 between Tours and Orléans from 4pm to 8pm;
avoid the A9 between Spain and Narbonne from 4pm to 7pm, between Narbonne and Montpellier from 5pm to 7pm, and between Montpellier and Orange from 3pm to 7pm;
avoid the A8 between Le Luc and Aix-en-Provence from 11am to 1pm;
avoid the A7 between Marseille and Orange from 11am to 3pm, and between Orange and Lyon from 12noon to 10pm;
avoid the A61 between Narbonne and Toulouse from 6pm to 9pm.
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