(FILES) Labourers work with construction machines on the construction site of the Simone Veil bridge, linking the cities of Bordeaux, Begles and Floirac as part of the rapidly-emerging district Euratlantique in Bordeaux on April 5, 2024. With fuel prices having risen by 30 to 50 per cent since the start of the war in the Middle East, the French Minister for the Economy also announced on 11 May 2026 that the "flash fuel loan", which allows sums of between 5,000 and 50,000 to be lent at a rate of 3.8 per cent, without requiring collateral, to certain micro-enterprises (TPE) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), was to be extended to the construction sector. (Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP via Getty Images)