Road hauliers get third aid round up to €180,000 for summer 2026

Road public-transport companies established in FranceLegifrance with fewer than 1,000 employees at the date of the aid applicationLegifrance get a third round of exceptional aidLegifrance, this time for June to August 2026Legifrance. The direct grant is capped at 180,000 euros per companyLegifrance and covers firms holding, under article L. 3411-1 of the code des transports, an interior or Community licence for public passenger transport or for public goods transportLegifrance, whose principal activity at the application date matches one of eleven INSEE NAF codes — 49.41A (Transports routiers de fret interurbains), 49.41B (Transports routiers de fret de proximité), 49.41C (Location de camions avec chauffeur), 53.20Z (Autres activités de poste et de courrier), 49.42Z (Services de déménagement), 52.10B (Entreposage et stockage non frigorifique), 52.29A (Messagerie, fret express), 52.29B (Affrètement et organisation des transports), 49.39A (Transports routiers réguliers de voyageurs), 49.39B (Autres transports routiers de voyageurs) or 80.10Z (Activités de sécurité privée)Legifrance.

Applicants must be clear of unpaid tax or social-security debt at 31 December 2024Legifrance, except debts settled or covered by a payment plan by the application dateLegifrance; tax debts of 1,500 euros or less in total are ignoredLegifrance, as are debts whose existence or amount was under dispute without a final decision at 1 April 2026Legifrance.

For any monthly claim above 5,000 euros, only firms whose pre-tax current result is 1% or less of turnover over the last two financial years closed before 30 April 2026 qualify — or over the single closed year for firms with only oneLegifrance. Firms with no financial year closed before 30 April 2026 are capped at 5,000 euros a monthLegifrance.

Eligible vehicles are M2/M3 buses and coaches in UNECE Regulation 107 classes II, III and B, plus category N or M1 vehicles — including specialised VASP bodies — assigned to goods transport or collective passenger transportLegifrance. At the application date each vehicle must be owned or held under a long lease or crédit-bailLegifrance, actually operated for public road transportLegifrance, and compliant with contrôle technique rulesLegifrance. Aid equals three times the sum, per vehicle category, of the operated fleet multiplied by unit amountsLegifrance: 250 euros per coachLegifrance, 70 euros per sub-10-seat collective passenger vehicleLegifrance, 70, 100, 250 or 400 euros per goods carrier by PTAC band (up to 3.5t, up to 7.5t, under 26t, 26t and over)Legifrance, and 500 euros per tractor unitLegifrance. For NAF 49.41C, 80.10Z and 52.10B firms the eligible fleet is capped at the number of licence copies heldLegifrance — the firm presents whichever vehicles give it the best result — and for NAF 49.39A/49.39B firms the sub-10-seat fleet is capped at the light-passenger licence copiesLegifrance.

The grants fall under Commission Regulation (UE) 2023/2831 on de minimis aidLegifrance and cumulate with the first two schemes set by décret n° 2026-289 du 17 avril 2026 and décret n° 2026-591 du 3 juillet 2026Legifrance. Any firm paid more than 5,000 euros a month whose operating surplus for the year containing August 2026 — net of aid under all three decrees — exceeds 65% of the previous year's must repayLegifrance; a firm in that position sends the agency proof by 31 October 2027, failing which the agency recovers the sumsLegifrance. The agency runs and pays the scheme for the State under a convention with the transport minister, deciding awards unilaterally. Beneficiaries register with the agency by 9 November 2026 at the latestLegifrance and keep all eligibility documents available on request.

Legal basis: décret n° 2026-885 du 23 septembre 2026Legifrance on the third exceptional aid scheme for public road-transport companiesLegifrance.