The cash-strapped French government may need to find an extra €1.5bn (£1bn) after being defeated in a legal challenge over a plan to block hauliers from getting refunds for tax paid on motorway tolls.
The constitutional council, which reviews all legislation before it becomes law, struck down several parts of the 2006 budget, including a measure to block thousands of French hauliers and foreign commercial drivers from reclaiming VAT paid on tolls.
