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← Driving bans in Europe

France

General ban from Saturday 22:00 to Sunday 22:00 for vehicles over 7.5 t, with extra restrictions on the eve of public holidays, in summer and in the Paris region.

Applies to: Goods vehicles over 7.5 t ·Updated on 23 October 2026

When you cannot drive

  • Weekend

    Saturday 22:00 → Sunday 22:00

    General ban across the network for goods vehicles over 7.5 t.

  • Public holidays

    Eve 22:00 → holiday 22:00

    The ban starts the night before the holiday, not at midnight.

  • Summer and heavy-traffic dates

    Extra restrictions published by arrêté

    Saturdays of peak holiday movement and weekends flagged by Bison Futé.

  • Île-de-France

    Specific restrictions in the Paris region

    Fridays and the eve of public holidays in the late afternoon, on designated roads.

Most common exemptions

  • Perishable goods, live animals and foodstuffs under the defined conditions
  • Combined transport within the radius set by the rules
  • Emergency, recovery, public service and newspaper delivery vehicles

Exemptions vary from country to country and almost always depend on paperwork on board proving what the load is.

Planning notes

France is where most Iberian trips get stuck, and almost always for the same reason: the ban starts at 22:00 on Saturday, not at midnight, and the same head start applies on the eve of a public holiday.

For anyone coming up from Spain on the A63 or the A9, that means deciding early: either cross the border with enough margin to get through before 22:00, or plan the weekly rest on the Spanish side. Pulling over in a hurry at a packed French motorway service area at 21:50 rarely ends well.

The extra summer calendar, published by arrêté and signposted by Bison Futé, also adds Saturday mornings on designated roads. Always check before setting off.

Road closures and works of the day are published, in Portuguese, on the traffic page.

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