A record 46 people died on the French roads in the first 24 hours of 1999, the traffic information centre said yesterday, prompting politicians to call for tougher action against reckless drivers and spurring newspapers to ask whether France should not follow Britain in cracking down on drink-driving.

"This was a truly dramatic New Year's Day and we cannot have another like it," said Isabelle Massin, head of the government's road safety committee. "Forty-six fatalities, including 27 under the age of 25: that's the equivalent of an entire school class. They could all have been avoided."

The death toll was twice as high as that on January 1 last year, the information centre said, adding that the majority of fatalities were caused by excessive speed, alcohol and 'irresponsible behaviour'.

Among the dead were two Toulouse teenagers selected for the France under-18 rugby team.

'Why? Why so many dead? Why so young?' asked Le Parisien newspaper in an editorial. 'This is an unforgivable waste of life. Why were the police not out in force on New Year's Eve? Why have we not, like the English, organised mass breathalyser tests and publicity campaigns?'

On average, 22 people die every day on French roads, a third of them under the age of 25. Alcohol is involved in 40 per cent of accidents.Figures for last year are expected to be the worst for nearly a decade, with 8,400 fatalities and 150,000 injuries forecast. Britain, with a comparable population, has 3,600 deaths a year.

The Socialist-led government hopes to pass legislation that will make exceeding the speed limit by more than 50kph (about 30mph) an offence, punishable by up to three months in prison. It also plans to force young drivers who commit offences to undergo additional training, and to reward good driving.

But Michel Germain, a road safety lobbyist, said: "Police surveillance has to be much stricter and the penalties far, far tougher."