It was bumper-to-bumper on French roads Saturday with hundreds of thousands of motorists either heading off on holiday or returning home, creating a record 915 kilometres (570 miles) of tailbacks, officials said, reports FRANCE 24.
The snarl-ups on the roads added to chaos in the skies caused by a strike by Air France ground staff.
"You should always be wary of real-time figures, but getting past the 900-kilometre mark is a record," said Ghislain De Sars of the highway authority.
Rain added to the misery in some parts of the country, he said, noting that people heading south from Lyon suffered through 31 kilometres of stop-go traffic.
Those heading to Italy faced waits of more than two hours to get through the Mont Blanc tunnel.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.