MPs approve four years of diesel tax rises

Tax on diesel will rise 2.6 cents per litre every year for the next four years, after MPs voted in favour of the government's draft budget for 2018.

The annual increase will bring tax on diesel in line with the levy on petrol - but has been criticised by members of the centre-right Republicains, who branded it an 'additional penalty for rural areas'.

The president of Nouvelle Gauche, Olivier Faure, condemned the increase as 'a form of punitive ecology', reminding assembly members that, "there are not only people who are lucky enough to live in big cities".

Minister of Public Accounts Gerald Darmanin explained that diesel contributes to 45,000 deaths per year and that "all candidates for the presidential election" supported plans to align the prices of diesel and petrol, which had been initiated during François Hollande's tenure.

The diesel tax increase will be on top of carbon tax rises, which will add to the cost of at the pumps.

Sales of diesel vehicles in France have plummeted in the past five years, from 70% of the total number of vehicles sold to less than 50%.

Meanwhile, a financial incentive for scrapping diesel cars in favour of greener options will increase to €2,000.