WATCH THE HOLIDAY ZONES AND AVOID THE JAMS...
In the UK 90% of school holidays commence at the same time whether it’s summer, Christmas or Easter. Consequently everyone going away at these times hits the road at roughly the same moment with the usual predictable degree of chaos and bumper-to -bumper frustrations.
The French, on the other hand, manage to avoid this by staggering holiday start dates in their educational establishments. And this is cleverly achieved with a simple Zone A, Zone B and Zone C system. The school holidays in each zone commence on a different date with about seven days separating each one. And, of course, the schools reopen at the end of each holiday period with the same time gap.
The dates for these ‘time zones’ are set by the French Minister for National Education and usually span a four-year period. The dates which are presently operating in the country were set in 2006 and will finish next year, 2010 and you access them on the Ministry’s website.
So, when you plan to travel around France at the start of peak holiday periods, it as well to be aware of these zones, where they operate and what are their key holiday start dates.
The three distinct regions are: Zone A - Caen, Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Rennes and Toulouse; Zone B – Aix-Mazrseille, Amiens, Besançon, Dijon, Lille, Limoges, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Poitiers, Reims, Rouen and Strasbourg; Zone C – Bordeaux, Créteil, Paris and Versailles.
As they say “for warned is for armed” and if you bear this information in mind you should avoid being snarled up anywhere in France!
