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Taxes on flight tickets in France are set to rise to fund investments in train infrastructure and make travelling by rail more attractive, the government has said.

France鈥檚 transport minister Cl茅ment Beaune made the announcement on Monday (August 7) and said the higher taxes would likely begin in 2024.

鈥淚n the 2024 budget, we will increase already-existing taxes on airline tickets,鈥� he in an interview. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a tax for the fun of it but to finance investments in trains.

鈥淢any people say they are shocked that planes often cost less than trains. [That鈥檚 why] we need more investments in the railways.鈥�

Mr Beaune also said that a European tax on aircraft fuel, kerosene, could also be introduced 鈥渋n a few months鈥�.

However, he conceded that for such a tax to be put in place, it would need to be 鈥渇air and necessary from an environmental standpoint鈥� and that all EU member states would need to agree.

He said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 moving forward, but there鈥檚 no point having a tax on kerosene in France if you don鈥檛 also have it in Germany or Italy.鈥�

The minister added France鈥檚 state-owned railway operator SNCF had introduced a series of lower-priced tickets for certain groups - including young people - in a bid to encourage them to take the train over the summer.

He added: 鈥淏y next summer, we want to have a [new] travel pass, especially for young people, for unlimited, lower-cost tickets.鈥�

A ban on domestic flights for plane journeys that can be done by train in under 2.5 hours came into force in France in May this year - although exceptions to the rule mean that the number of flights affected is fewer than first apparent.

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