From July 1st, every car travelling in France will be required to carry a breathalyser kit.

To help promote the new rules the organisation ’40 millions d’automobolistes’ and the motorway operator Vinci have joined forces for a publicity campaign.

Radio station Europe 1 reports that the promotion is also designed to help save lives over the busy Ascension weekend.

“This is a weekend when there are lots of deadly accidents,” said Louis Derboulle, the organisation’s president. “We want to save 1,000 lives.”

“Our aim is to educate and to prevent. French people need to understand that you cannot drive with an alcohol blood level of 0.5 grammes.”

Drink driving is believed to be responsible for one in three road deaths in France.

France’s death rate on the roads has proved hard to reduce in the last two years. 

In 2011, 3,970 people died on the road, a drop of just 22 on the year before.