The sale of alcohol will be banned from French petrol stations in a new campaign against drink drivers that includes the permanent confiscation of their vehicles for a second offence.

Petrol station owners were angered by a measure that is part of a package to bring down road deaths to 3,000 a year from the present 4,600. The British total last year was 2,989. A tough enforcement campaign has halved the French death toll since 2000 but alcohol has regained its place as the main cause of accidents this year, ahead of speeding.

While roadside cameras have helped to tame France's driving habits, British and other foreign drivers still feel immune from enforcement action on French roads and account for a quarter of all offences, the Government said. It wants faster progress towards European accords on enforcing penalties.

Wine, beer and spirits have long been sold at filling stations, with producers often using service areas to promote their local labels.

Presenting the package, François Fillon, the Prime Minister, said that the sales ban targets the young who buy alcohol at petrol stations because it is cheaper than in nightclubs. Alcohol is blamed for 46 per cent of road deaths of people under 24 compared with 26 per cent for all age groups.

The authorities are reporting a surge in youthful drink driving. In Brittany driving examiners asked last week for a police presence at their centre because candidates were turning up drunk for their tests. Two per cent of drivers on French roads are estimated by police to be under the influence on an average day.

Some owners said that they would face bankruptcy because drink represents about 60 per cent of their non-fuel sales. Michel Benezit, marketing director of Total, the biggest petrol brand, said: “They should be logical. If they ban alcohol sales in service station shops they must apply the measure to the supermarkets that also sell fuel.” Sixty per cent of French fuel is supplied by petrol pumps at hypermarkets and supermarkets. However, they usually close at 7pm while alcohol may be sold by petrol stations up to 10pm.

Chantal Perrichon, chief of the League against Road Violence, called the sales ban a step in the right direction. “Everything which limits the encouragement to drink is good, but it is a minor measure,” she said. “They should also have banned drink companies from sponsoring student entertainment.”

Charles Bremner's Paris blog

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