Speaking with Le Parisien, Ségolène Royal,France’s Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, said the country had joined the fight against air pollution too late, and that 60% of its inhabitants are now living in areas of poor air quality.

The “super bonus” builds on existing incentives against green vehicles. Offered to drivers living in the country’s most polluted areas – around 48% of the population – and who are trading in a diesel vehicle over 13 years old, it will provide an additional €3,700 (£2,765) discount against an electric vehicle (on top of the existing €6,300/£4707 eco bonus) and €2,500 (£1,868) off a plug-in hybrid (on top of an existing €4,000/£2,989 eco bonus).

By the summer, France will introduce a certification system to easily identify vehicles which are bad for air quality, and ongoing plans will roll out a clearly signposted, standardised network of seven million charging points nationwide. These will be mandatory in large car parks and transport hubs.