Motorway concessions should be maintained but contribute to transport funding

A first draft law planned for December 2025 must notably confirm the "refusal of general free travel" on public transport and on motorways, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot indicated Wednesday in Paris.

"In times of budgetary constraints, we cannot deprive ourselves of these resources to develop the offer," declared the minister (LR).

The maintenance needs are enormous and the budget is tight, stressed the former Secretary of State for Transport, Dominique Bussereau, during the submission of a report on infrastructure financing.

Meeting as part of the "Ambition France Transport" conference, experts, elected officials and professionals identified 14 proposals.

Among those retained by the government, Philippe Tabarot highlighted the maintenance of a concession model on motorways, the current concessions, shared by Vinci, APRR and Sanef, coming to an end from 2031.

The new concessions will, however, have to be "more restricted", "have a shorter duration" and a system of profitability supervision.

Toll rates

Motorway construction has paid for itself, and toll rates could be lowered. If they are maintained at "close to today's levels," tolls would generate an additional €2,5 billion annually from 2036, according to the report.

"We do not want to significantly increase user participation," Mr. Tabarot emphasized.

All revenues transferred to the State under these new motorway concessions "will go to transport," whether it be the rail network or roads, Philippe Tabarot stressed.

As protests against the construction of the A69 continue in the Tarn region, the minister clarified that the law "will prioritize the regeneration and modernization of existing networks."

The Infrastructure Advisory Council (COI) has been tasked with a "re-prioritization of major projects," which it is expected to publish in 2026.

On the rail network side, the law will set the objective of increasing the amount of investment in the rail network by 1,5 billion euros per year, reaching 4,5 billion per year by 2028.

To raise this sum, the ministry is counting on the SNCF, through a reinvestment of its profits, but also on private capital and energy saving certificates.

Philippe Tabarot, however, opposed a tax on TGV tickets, suggested by the Ambition France Transport report. Other proposals, such as a tax on home parcel deliveries or an increase in car registration taxes, were also not included.

Regarding roads, whose medium-term deterioration is worrying, the minister hopes that the 2026 Finance Bill will include an increase in the funding allocated to their regeneration.

A second milestone of the law should "later" define investment projects and their financing, the ministry said.

The upgrading and modernization of national rail, road and river infrastructure requires an additional investment of approximately 3 billion euros per year over the period 2026-2031.

Transport infrastructure, particularly the state's major rail, road and river networks, "has been steadily deteriorating for several decades due to a lack of adequate investment to maintain it," noted the rapporteur of the Ambition France Transport conference.