Particle.news
Download on the App Store

France’s 2026 Budget Showdown Escalates as PS Threatens Censure and MPs Extend High‑Earners Levy

Socialists set a Monday deadline for a wealth‑tax concession to meet their justice fiscale demands.

Overview

  • Plenary debate on the revenue bill opened Friday with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu urging compromise, forgoing 49.3 and signaling changes to reach a 2026 deficit target near 4.7% of GDP.
  • Deputies voted 279–25 to prolong the contribution différentielle sur les hauts revenus, a 20% minimum tax for top earners that the government estimates will raise about €1.5 billion in 2026.
  • The PS warned it will back censure unless a robust wealth measure is adopted, pushing the so‑called Zucman tax of a 2% minimum on fortunes above €100 million targeting roughly 1,800 households with a claimed €15 billion yield.
  • The government counters with a new levy on patrimonial holdings of at least €5 million in assets, expected to affect about 10,000 taxpayers and raise around €1 billion, a design the left criticizes as too easy to bypass.
  • Other flashpoints include a Renaissance push to lift the digital services tax to 15% for giants above €2 billion in global turnover, a freeze of income‑tax brackets that Bercy says would add 200,000 new taxpayers, and a retirees’ deduction change removed in commission, as Moody’s kept France’s rating but cut its outlook to negative ahead of a Nov. 4 vote.