Strikes, protests and big events: getting around Paris and Île-de-France

A strike, a protest or a trade show rarely shuts down all of Paris. What it does shut down, quite often, is your route: the hotel entrance, the station exit, the last RER to CDG. This guide covers Paris, the wider Île-de-France region and the four airports (CDG, Orly, Le Bourget and Beauvais). What has been announced for the coming days sits in the "Right now" box, timestamped to the hour; everything else holds all year.

What an announcement tells you, and what it doesn't

A national call to protest says nothing about whether your train runs. A fair at the Grand Palais doesn't close the whole neighbourhood. A shut metro station doesn't mean the airport is shut. Before you move a pickup time, put what you have just read into one of these five boxes.

The grid earns its keep on days when a strike and a big event land together. It stops a general headline from turning into a false certainty about your trip, in either direction.

Four checks before you leave

1. Your main transport. Is the flight or train running, at what time, from which terminal or station? Look it up by its number, not by the destination city.
2. Local traffic. Does a police order, roadworks or a security cordon affect the pickup, the drop-off or the roads in between?
3. The meeting point. Can the driver stop where you planned? If the hotel or venue entrance is closed to cars, where do you meet instead?
4. The way back. Does the end of the fair, the match or the dinner fall inside a restriction, after the last service or during a night closure?

For roads, Sytadin shows live traffic and closures across Île-de-France. For rail, SNCF Connect advises looking up your train by its number the day before or on the day. Those are two separate questions, so check both.

Curfews and protest bans: read the order, not the headline

A police measure applies to the area and the hours set out in its order, and nowhere else. On 19 October 2026 the French Prime Minister announced curfews that were "territorialised and partial", adding: "There is no question of putting the whole of Paris under curfew" (our translation). Where it applies is set out in the order itself.

The Paris police prefecture publishes its orders on a dedicated page (in French). If your hotel or meeting sits inside a named sector, get access confirmed before you set off. And don't assume one night's rules carry over to the next without a fresh announcement.

Traffic rules that apply all year round

None of this depends on a strike. It still explains a good share of the surprises: a route refused, a drop-off moved, a ride slower than the app suggested.

Paris Centre limited traffic zone

Since 5 November 2024, around the clock, motor vehicles may not drive through Paris Centre (the 1st to 4th arrondissements) without stopping there. You can still enter for a destination inside the zone, and taxis and VTC private-hire cars are among the authorised vehicles. According to the City of Paris, no fines are currently being issued. Give the driver an exact address inside the zone: that address is what justifies the route.

Greater Paris low-emission zone: still in force

Parliament did vote to scrap the low-emission zone (ZFE), but the Constitutional Council struck that provision down on 21 May 2026. The ZFE therefore still applies. It covers vehicles rated Crit'Air 3, 4 and 5 and unclassified vehicles, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 8 pm for cars, in 77 municipalities. Until 31 December 2026, checks are for information only. Its boundary does not follow the A86 ring road; the map below shows an approximate outline. We will review this section in January 2027.

Périphérique: 50 km/h and a reserved lane

The Paris ring road has been limited to 50 km/h along its whole length since 10 October 2024. Since March 2025, as a trial, its left-hand lane has been reserved on weekdays from 7 am to 10:30 am and from 4 pm to 8 pm for vehicles carrying two or more people, taxis, VTC cars with a passenger on board, and buses. Similar lanes operate on the A1 and A13 at certain hours.

Private-hire cars: pre-booking, and what it does not unlock

A VTC driver may only pick up a passenger on the street with proof of a prior booking (article L3120-2 of the French Transport Code). That booking opens no closed perimeter. During a protest, the ride goes ahead if the roads and access points allow it; the pickup point may have to move.

On the ground, instructions from officers directing traffic override road signs and every other traffic rule (article R411-28 of the Highway Code). A driver who turns back on an officer's signal isn't being difficult. That's the law.

On price: VTC fares in France are set freely. The fare is either a fixed amount agreed at booking or calculated after the ride. Ask which one applies, and compare the total you will pay.

Airports: keeping a CDG, Orly, Le Bourget or Beauvais transfer on track

For the mode-by-mode detail (train, bus, taxi, booked car), read what a strike changes for each way to the airport. Here is the short version.

Flight first, road second

A closed road, a suspended RER line and a changed flight schedule are three separate events, and none of them lets you predict the other two. Start with the flight: its status with the airline and on Paris Aéroport's flight tracking page. The airline remains your contact for anything to do with the booking itself.

If the flight is cancelled, tell your chauffeur service before the car sets off: with PrivateDrive the ride is then refunded or rescheduled at no charge, depending on notice (see below).

Working out your pickup time

Start from the time the airline wants you at the airport, not from the departure time.

Pickup time = time the airline wants you at the airport, minus the estimated drive, minus the buffer you choose.

Example: a 10 am flight, check-in by 7 am, a one-hour drive and a 30-minute buffer. Pickup at 5:30 am. The check-in time is on your ticket or in the airline's app.

The buffer depends on the day: a closure on the route, extra luggage, a stop at another address, a VAT refund desk, someone who walks slowly. A flat few minutes won't cover all of that.

Charles de Gaulle (CDG)

CDG has three terminals: T1, T2 (halls 2A to 2G) and T3. From 16 March 2027 they will be renumbered 1 to 7, so go by the name on your ticket and on the screens. By road, the airport is served by the A1, A3, A104 and N2.

On public transport, the RoissyBus has not run since late February 2026. CDG Express opens on 28 March 2027 and does not run before then. That leaves the RER B, which is suspended on some weekday evenings for engineering work: the "Right now" box carries the current dates, and our late-arrival guide explains what still runs from CDG after midnight.

With PrivateDrive, your driver waits in the arrivals hall with a sign bearing your name. Flight tracking works if you give the flight number when you book. An access restriction can move the meeting point. Book a CDG transfer.

Orly

Orly is organised into four terminals, Orly 1 to 4, which replaced the old Orly West and Orly South. Since 24 June 2024, metro line 14 has linked Saint-Denis Pleyel with the airport; like any line it can close for works, so check your date. By road, you arrive via the A6 then the A106, or via the RN7.

The meeting arrangement is the same as at CDG: your driver holds a sign at the agreed point in the public arrivals area. If you can't see them, call before you try another exit. Book an Orly transfer.

Le Bourget and Beauvais

At Le Bourget, two addresses share a name: the business aviation airport and the exhibition centre, which hosts the Paris Nautic Show in November 2026 and the Paris Air Show in June 2027. Always say which one you mean. Le Bourget transfers.

From Beauvais airport, PrivateDrive offers a transfer you can book online; hourly hire is not available there. The ways into Paris are compared on our Beauvais to Paris page.

From touchdown to the car door

Between touchdown and the car door come the jet bridge, passport control and the baggage hall. A lunch booked too close to landing is the first casualty of a slow carousel. PrivateDrive includes 60 minutes of waiting at the airport, counted from the actual landing time, and 15 minutes at a station or an address, counted from the agreed time. Flight tracking is not unlimited waiting: what happens beyond that is set out in our service policy.

Paris rail stations and connections

A connection between two stations, or between a station and an airport, is a trip in its own right. Send both train numbers, the times and the exact station printed on the ticket. If one train changes, the meeting changes too.

At a station, you meet at an identifiable public spot, a named hall or exit; access to the platform is not guaranteed. "Outside Gare du Nord" won't do: there are too many outsides. How station meetings work is explained in the service policy.

For Eurostar, ticket gates close before departure and the cut-off depends on the route and the class of travel, so follow the time on your ticket. For arrivals, see how to go about meeting your driver at Gare du Nord off the Eurostar.

One last point that often gets missed: a car links two stations in whatever time the traffic allows. If a delay makes the connection too tight, talk to the rail operator about rebooking first.

Event venues: where to drop off, how to get away

These are the addresses that keep coming up in the calendar below. Each has its own entrances, crowd days and late exits, and access instructions change from one edition to the next, so we don't copy them here.

• Grand Palais: Art Basel Paris, Paris Photo. Entrance as stated on your ticket or invitation.
• Paris Expo Porte de Versailles: Paris Games Week, Salon du Chocolat, EquipHotel, Rétromobile, Wine Paris, Foire de Paris, VivaTech. See also show-day logistics at Villepinte and Porte de Versailles.
• Paris Nord Villepinte: SIAL, Euronaval, Maison&Objet.
• Paris Le Bourget exhibition centre: Paris Nautic Show, Paris Air Show.
• Palais des Congrès de Paris: professional conferences, including the ADF congress in late November. See also ground transport for the major MICE venues.
• Carrousel du Louvre: fairs and presentations right in Paris Centre, inside the limited traffic zone.
• Stade de France: NFL, rugby, stadium concerts. For the way home, read about the ride back from a match night at the Stade de France.
• Parc des Princes: Paris Saint-Germain home games.
• Plenitude Arena in Nanterre (formerly Paris La Défense Arena): Rolex Paris Masters.
• Accor Arena: concerts, including a fifteen-night Orelsan run in December 2026.
• Adidas Arena, Porte de la Chapelle: sport and concerts.
• Roland-Garros stadium: the French Open, mid-May to early June.

What your driver needs to know depends on the venue:

A show's floor plan can change between editions. In 2027, Wine Paris brings visitors in through Hall 1 and leaves Halls 2 and 3 unused because of building work. Ask for the plan of the current edition.

Plan the exit

Leaving usually takes more coordination than arriving. Matches overrun, concerts empty slowly, dinners stretch. Agree on a recognisable spot, a way to reach each other, and how you'll signal you're ready. If a short walk leads to a street cars can reach, make sure it suits everyone: with a child, someone who walks with difficulty or a stack of suitcases, the closest point on the map is not always the most practical one.

When the hotel can't be reached by car

The hotel may be open while its usual entrance is closed to traffic: a street pedestrianised for the day, roadworks, a security perimeter. Ask the front desk which approach works that day, then confirm the address with your driver. The hotel's name alone is not enough when it has several entrances.

The map: alerts, venues, zones, stations and airports

The map stacks four layers, which you can switch on and off.

• Dated alerts: a station or place affected by a current measure. Each alert disappears on its own once its end date passes. Curfew perimeters are not drawn until the order itself has been read.
• Event venues: the twelve addresses listed above. Each pin's popup says whether its position is official or approximate.
• Permanent zones: the Paris Centre limited traffic zone, and an approximate outline of the low-emission zone based on order AP/2024/415.
• Stations and airports: the main Paris rail stations and the terminals at CDG, Orly, Le Bourget and Beauvais. A taxi rank marked on the map is a taxi rank, not a private-hire pickup point.

Basemap and data: © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · SNCF Gares & Connexions (ODbL) · City of Paris: ZTL (Licence Ouverte), taxi ranks (ODbL) · Île-de-France Mobilités · ZFE outline: IGN BD TOPO and geo.api.gouv.fr.

Calendar: late 2026 and 2027

Dates come from the organisers and venues. They tell you when it will be busy, not which streets will close.

Between now and the end of December 2026

Not yet published: Rolex Paris Masters session times, dates for the Christmas lights and markets on the Champs-Élysées and in the Tuileries, and the arrangements for 31 December 2026. Ligue 1 kick-off times can still move.

As a precedent, on 31 December 2025 the police prefecture restricted traffic and parking in the 8th, 16th and 17th arrondissements, and some metro stations closed from the afternoon.

Already announced for 2027

• 13 to 18 January: Maison&Objet In The City, trade only, in Paris showrooms. 14 to 18 January: Maison&Objet Premier, the new name of the January edition, at Paris Nord Villepinte.
• Fashion weeks: the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode has published its 2027 calendar, January through October. What those weeks do to the chauffeur market is covered in our Fashion Week article.
• 3 to 7 February: Rétromobile, Porte de Versailles. Preview evening on Tuesday 2 February from 6 pm to 11 pm, late opening on Friday 5 until 10 pm.
• 15 to 17 February: Wine Paris, Porte de Versailles, trade only.
• 27 February to 7 March: Paris International Agricultural Show; check the venue on the show's website.
• Sunday 4 April: ASICS Paris Marathon, 50th edition. The route has not been published yet.
• 30 April to 10 May: Foire de Paris, Porte de Versailles, late opening on Saturday 8 May until 10 pm.
• 17 May to 6 June: Roland-Garros. Qualifying from 17 to 21 May, main draw from Sunday 23 May.
• Stade de France: Niska in April, SDM on 29 and 30 May, Oasis on 20 and 23 July.
• 14 to 20 June: Paris Air Show at Paris-Le Bourget, open to the public at the weekend. 16 to 19 June: VivaTech, Porte de Versailles.
• 2 to 25 July: Tour de France. The finish and route are presented on 22 October 2026.
• No Paris Motor Show in 2027: the next edition is announced for October 2028.

The days when everything collides

Four dates deserve a plan B now.

• Sunday 25 October 2026: clocks go back (see below), the NFL plays the Stade de France at 2:30 pm, PSG host Lyon at 8:45 pm, and it is the last day of both Art Basel and Paris Games Week.
• Thursday 5 November 2026: the joint union call, the last day of EquipHotel, a day of Euronaval at Villepinte and a day of the Rolex Paris Masters.
• The weekend of 29 and 30 May 2027: concerts at the Stade de France during Roland-Garros.
• The week of 14 to 20 June 2027: the Paris Air Show and VivaTech at the same time.

School holidays, weather and the clock change

French school holidays start after classes end; pupils go back on the morning of the date shown.

Period	Dates
All Saints' (Toussaint), all zones	17 October to 2 November 2026
Christmas	19 December 2026 to 4 January 2027
Winter, zone C (Paris)	6 to 22 February 2027
Winter, zone A	13 February to 1 March 2027
Winter, zone B	20 February to 8 March 2027
Spring, zone C (Paris)	3 to 19 April 2027

Bison Futé publishes the traffic forecasts, Sytadin the live picture in Île-de-France.

Overnight from Saturday 24 to Sunday 25 October 2026, France moves to winter time: at 3 am, clocks go back to 2 am. Double-check pickup times for very early flights and trains that day.

Before a trip exposed to bad weather, look at the Météo-France weather warnings, which cover today and tomorrow and are updated at least twice a day, at 6 am and 4 pm. Booking a driver does not guarantee a journey the authorities advise against or forbid.

Choosing how to travel

Start from what is actually running that day, and from what your group needs. Luggage, connections, access and the terms for changing a booking matter as much as the journey time on the screen.

A chauffeur sorts out the pickup and keeps a programme together, but drives in the same traffic as everyone else. If the trains run and the roads are jammed, the train may be the better call. Luggage, several stops or a return to coordinate tilt things the other way.

Arranging your pickup with PrivateDrive

What to send us

• The date and full pickup and drop-off addresses.
• The flight or train number, with the terminal or station if you know it.
• Any time you must arrive by, and stops along the way.
• The number of travellers and the luggage: large suitcases, cabin bags, pushchair, equipment.
• Child seats, booster seats and any mobility needs.
• Your preferred language and a number we can reach during the trip.
• The event name, the hall or gate, then the time and address for the return.

Room for luggage matters as much as the number of seats. The E-Class and S-Class take up to 3 passengers with 2 large suitcases; the V-Class takes up to 7 passengers and 7 large suitcases. Request child and booster seats when you book: availability is confirmed with the booking.

Transfer or hourly hire

A transfer is one defined journey. Hourly hire keeps the driver and car with you for a set time, across several stops. With PrivateDrive it is booked for at least 3 hours, in one continuous stretch, within Île-de-France; any hour started beyond that is charged at the overtime rate. Day trips to Versailles, Giverny, Champagne, the Loire and Normandy can be booked online at a fixed price; other programmes outside Île-de-France are quoted individually. Book a chauffeur by the hour.

Groups and events

For a group or an event, the number of vehicles and whether a coordinator is present are set in the quote. Planning event transport starts with the guest programme: who lands when, and from where. See group transport. Long-distance trips and events outside Île-de-France are also quoted individually.

Cancellations, changes and cancelled flights

Cancel more than 48 hours before pickup and you get a full refund; between 48 and 24 hours, a 50% refund; under 24 hours, none. If your flight is cancelled and you tell us more than 12 hours before pickup, the ride is refunded in full; with less than 12 hours' notice, the transfer is rescheduled at no charge. Group quotes may carry their own terms, and those are the ones that apply. Details are in our terms.

The day before, then on the day

The day before, check the flight or train, the traffic, the venue's programme and any instructions you've received. On the day, look at what has changed since, and keep your booking contact to hand. For an evening out, agree how you'll let the driver know if you leave early or late. For an arrival, flag a terminal change, a different train or a slow passport queue.

Plan a CDG transfer · Plan an Orly transfer · Organise event transport

Outside Île-de-France: where to check

For another city, combine the organiser's programme, the local transport network and announcements from the prefecture or town hall. These are the home pages worth keeping to hand.

Method and updates

Facts in this guide come from transport operators, the Paris police prefecture, the City of Paris, Légifrance, organisers and venues, read on the date shown. Anything not yet published is flagged as such. The planning advice is a method, not a traffic forecast.

The permanent part is reviewed periodically, and the date of each review appears in the log. The "Right now" box and the calendar are updated with each new announcement, and an expired alert disappears on its own.

Log. 19 October 2026: first version.