A new French rail company has secured the first approval needed to launch high-speed services from Paris to cities including Bordeaux, Nantes and Angers, potentially bringing more choice and competition to some of the country’s busiest routes.

Délivrée par le ministère des Transports, elle est l'une des deux autorisations clés obligatoires pour pouvoir exercer une activité de transport ferroviaire en France.

A French train start-up says that it has won an initial licence to operate on high-speed lines dominated by state-owned SNCF, the latest effort to open up France's rail market to…