Black Saturday (''samedi noir'' in French) refers, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, to the day of the year when road traffic is most dense due to the many departures on holiday. (Traffic problems are exacerbated by France's extreme centralisation, with Paris being the hub of the entire national highway network.) This Saturday is usually at the end of July, though in 2007 both the last Saturday of July and the first Saturday of August are designated as Black Saturdays. The Autoroute du Soleil, the

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...

to the south of

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, is usually particularly busy. In 2004 there was more than in accumulated traffic congestion. The black colour is the qualification with which the French government web site ''Bison Futé'' designates a day with ''extrêmement dense'' (extremely busy) traffic. The French

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

s call this day ''samedi noir'' after Bison Futé's designation. Usually, the French call these days ''les jours de grands départs'' (days of great departures). In

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, this French phenomenon was known as ''zwarte zaterdag'' long before the French adopted the term ''samedi noir'', both meaning (literally) Black Saturday. The term Black Saturday may also refer to Saturday July 31, 1982, when the worst road accident in French history happened. Around 1:45 AM, a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

collided into passenger cars near

Beaune Beaune () is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and the center of Burgundy wine production and business. The annua ...

in dense holiday traffic during rainfall. The collision and subsequent fire killed 53 people, among which 46 were children. After this crash, a regulation was enforced to prohibit the transportation of groups of children during this part of the year.Il y a vingt ans, l'accident de Beaune
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804100900/http://www.humanite.fr/2002-08-01_Societe_-Route-Il-y-a-vingt-ans-l-accident-de-Beaune , date=2009-08-04 (French, meaning: Twenty years ago today, the Beaune accident)

References

French culture July observances August observances Saturday observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month)

See also

References