France to end sale of petrol and diesel fuelled cars by 2040

France is set to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. The move is part of the country’s renewed commitment to the Paris climate deal under the leadership of new President Emmanuel Macron.

Nicolas Hulot, France’s ecology minister, has hailed the move as a revolution, according to the Guardian.

Addressing concerns over how France’s automotive industry would deal with the dramatic new legislation, he said that although the objective was a tough one, it was also one car makers were equipped to achieve.

“Our [car]makers have enough ideas in the drawer to nurture and bring about this promise ... which is also a public health issue,” Hulot said, according to the Guardian.

France is the first country to actually pass a law restricting the use of the internal combustion engine. In the Netherlands, a law to ban diesel and petrol cars by 2025 is currently being debated. According to the Guardian, some federal states in Germany are supportive of a 2030 phase out.

According to the BBC, at present hybrid cars make up about 3.5% of the French market, with pure electric vehicles accounting for just 1.2%. It is believed that no clear plan has yet been made for the fate of existing fossil fuel cars in France after 2040.

Struggling households would receive financial assistance in replacing their older vehicles with a more environmentally friendly one, Hulot said.