Ten million French households on Monday became eligible for a fuel subsidy of 100 euros. The one-off grant replaces the government's petrol price support scheme which was in force until the end of 2022.
Under the price support system put in place last year in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government compensated the oil companies for increased crude oil prices in order to limit the impact on individual consumers.
Everyone who owned a motor vehicle was eligible.
The new system will concern only the five income groups at the bottom of the tax table. To qualify, an individual must have a basic annual income of no more than €14,700, the equivalent of €1,314 per month.
The monthly limit for a couple with two children is €3,941.
The 100 euro payment is a one-off grant, and is considered by the government to be a fair replacement for last year's discount of 10 centimes per litre.
The handout is intended to help those who need their cars to travel to and from their place of work, and is based on an annual professional usage of 12,000 kms.
The closing date for the scheme is 28 February.
The government estimates the total cost of the initiative at €1 billion. The previous scheme, involving a general rebate on the pump price, cost around €8 billion.
Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal says the new system is intended to "help the local nurse who needs her Twingo to visit patients, rather than the well-heeled family who use their sports utility vehicle for something else."
Development to help the poorest
Meanwhile, 20 elected local representatives have addressed an open letter to President Emmanuel Macron, asking him to take real action to help the poorest 10 percent of the French population, hardest hit by the economic crisis.
According to the letter, published in the regional daily newspaper Ouest-France, the crucial projects for this year have to concentrate on single-parent families, and on the education and training of the young.
The signatories also call for an economic development plan which will allow every citizen to have access to a worthwhile job and so ensure her or his financial independence, and permit the development of a society in which people can grow old with dignity.
Among the 20 elected officials behind the letter are the socialist mayors of cities like Clermont-Ferrand and Bourges, the Republican mayor of Vitré in Brittany, and the assistant mayors of Bordeaux, Lyon and Rennes.
They insist that central government must take more financial responsibility for development projects, and not continue to pass the bill to local communes already struggling to make ends meet.
