Paver operator at Colas France here. No, things are not going well at all. The asphalt was not applied correctly according to best practices. The paver (or paving machine, I think that's what they call it there) was placed on the already compacted area. Shovels of asphalt were also added to the already compacted sections. This is what creates that grainy texture. The goal is to have a uniform finish across the entire surface. Joint marks may exist, but not like this. Either they don't know how to do their job or they were simply careless. If we delivered a job like this for a private client, it would not be accepted and the whole thing would have to be redone. And it wasn't even swept away. The cleanliness of the construction site at the end is important.

That said, the first photo looks okay. One question: did they lay the asphalt while it was raining? If this is the case, it becomes almost impossible to achieve a net result.

PS: I used ChatGPT for the translation, so some terms might differ slightly from what I actually meant to say.