French road toll operator cuts 200 jobs over scrapped tax

Ecomouv, 70 percent-controlled by the Italian company, had a contract to administer the proposed motorway toll, which was to have raised funds for rail and other infrastructure projects.

The plan sparked protests from truck drivers last year that led to its eventual withdrawal - but only after Ecomouv had installed 173 electronic toll gates across France, worth up to 1 million euros ($1.24 million) each.

France is currently challenging the terms of the abandoned contract in a bid to avoid paying as much as 1 billion euros in cancellation fees and other costs.

(Reporting by Gregory Blachier; Writing by Natalie Huet; Editing by Laurence Frost)