US EditionTax the rich or fall: French PM faces budget ultimatum
The proposed 2% tax on fortunes over €100 million targets 1,800 households and could raise up to €20 billion annually to help reduce France's budget deficit, officials said.
- French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faces a critical decision on a 2% wealth tax targeting billionaires amid ongoing budget preparations in 2025.
- The tax proposal, designed by economist Gabriel Zucman, passed the lower house in February but was rejected by the Senate and may face constitutional challenges.
- The proposal targets wealth above €100 million, aiming to affect about 1,800 households and potentially raise up to €20 billion annually to reduce France's large budget deficit.
- An Ifop poll shows 86% public support for the tax, while critics warn it could discourage investment, especially if business-owners’ assets, like shares in startups such as Mistral AI valued at €11.7 billion, are included.
- Lecornu's political survival depends on negotiating with Socialist lawmakers who back the tax, while concerns remain about balancing tax justice with preserving investment and competitiveness.
21 Articles
21 Articles
According to an Ipsos poll, the vast majority (86%) of the French, on the left and on the right, are in favour of the Zucman tax. A plebiscite that contrasts with the votes of the deputies of the central or right bloc, last February in the Assembly, for the most part opposed to this measure which would collect 2% of the fortunes each year exceeding 100 million euros.
CHRONIC - What motivates PS's star economist is not the search for the common good, but the desire for punishment of the richest.
der Standard AT
der Standard DEHundreds of thousands went to the streets in French cities to demonstrate for a change of course
Beyond the question of taxation, which seems to have to find a quick answer, the current debate shows a growing feeling of injustice in FranceIn a context of a political and budgetary crisis that is reaching a rare intensity, France is passionate about a very specific tax subject: the so-called "Zucman" tax, the name of the economist who seduced the left by imagining a "floor tax on the wealth of the ultra-rich". Because the popular demand for a…
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- 39% of the sources lean Left, 38% of the sources are Center
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