Traffic jams reached a peak of 1,041.2 km at 11.50am, including more than a hundred on the A7 which serves the Rhône Valley, as well as on the A9, which heads to the Spanish border.
They were at 921.3 km around 12.35pm.
The forecaster Bison futé had published a warning online of "extremely difficult traffic on all major roads in the country" and recommended, "where possible, to postpone (one's) trip and avoid taking to the road that day".
All major roads across the country, including those serving the Atlantic coast, the Southwest, central France, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and the Mediterranean coast, are likely to be affected by the heavy traffic, with congestion starting very early in the morning and expected to end in the early evening . In the Île-de-France region, traffic on the A6 and A10 motorways was expected to reach its peak by late morning .
Saturday is also classified as orange ("difficult") for return journeys.
Following the fires that struck the Gironde region, Bison futé also issued a reminder that although the A63 motorway reopened on Thursday, "restrictions may still remain on the local road network" and invites travellers to check the situation.
Sunday will be classified as a red day in much of the southern half of the country for departures, and orange in the rest, with the main congestion expected "in the South-West and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, between the early afternoon and the early evening".
For return journeys, the day is classified as green except for the Mediterranean coast, which is classified as orange.
