The number of deaths on French roads reported in June 2017 was up a whopping 15.4 percent on the same month last year, France's national road safety body (ONISR) has said.
In June 2017, 329 people lost their lives on French roads compared to 285 during the same month in 2016, representing 44 more road fatalities.
The road safety body also announced that despite the contrast with last year's figures, on the whole they are up just 1.1 percent on the previous 12 months.
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File photo: AFP
The high number of road deaths in France has been a constant issue for French governments over the years.
In June, The Local reported the tragic story of a British father and his 10-month-old baby who were killed in a road crash during their holiday in Brittany, northwestern France.
The family's car was hit from behind by an empty cattle truck on a country road in rural western Brittany.
Last year The Local reported that France's road mortality rate had increased in 2015 for the second year in a row, something the country hadn't seen for 35 years. And the fatality rate for 2016 was even higher, with a death toll of 3,469.
The former Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in January last year that one of the primary reasons for the higher toll was increase in road traffic but also drivers taking risks.
“The rise also reflects an increase in risky behaviour that can lead to serious accident fatalities,” he said.
The former minister also said French drivers were “too relaxed” when it came to following the road rules, and that many motorists continued to drive “at excessive speed”.
A study in April 2015 from BVA found that 75 percent of French people acknowledged that they don't always stick to the speed limit.
“This is not acceptable! This behavior is irresponsible and may be criminal,” Cazeneuve had said.
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