Paris once endured a 109-mile traffic jam

A closer look

Combining thousands of vacationing French motorists with a sudden, localized winter storm results in a historical transportation collapse. In February 1980, millions of people were returning to Paris after a ski holiday just as terrible weather hit the highway systems. The resulting gridlock locked down 109 miles of asphalt, cementing its place in the Guinness Book of Records and proving that poor weather and collective poor timing can paralyze a superpower.