For the past decade, French lawmakers have tended to protect their road hauliers. This protectionist movement was initiated by the law of 31 December 1992 on subcontracting relationships, continued by the law of 1 February 1995 on unfair terms and the presentation of contracts, followed by the law of 6 February 1998, which significantly improved the payment guarantees offered to carriers until then. This trend culminated in the Act of 5 January 2006 on transport safety and development, which introduced an automatic indexation clause into transport contracts reflecting the cost of diesel fuel and imposing a mandatory payment period of 30 days from the date of issue of the invoice.