Overview

• Unions led fresh walkouts and marches with the Interior Ministry estimating up to 800,000 demonstrators as Paris transit faced major disruptions.
• Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu seeks Socialist backing to keep his government in office yet has rejected the Zucman wealth tax as right‑leaning allies and Marine Le Pen’s party oppose it.
• The proposal would charge 2% annually on assets above €100 million, affecting about 0.01% of households, with Gabriel Zucman projecting €20 billion a year and a group of economists estimating closer to €5 billion.
• Business groups warn of capital flight and legal scholars flag potential constitutional hurdles, while startup leaders such as Mistral AI’s CEO caution that founders could be forced to sell shares to pay the tax.
• Talks on the 2026 budget opened on September 17 with a submission deadline of October 7 as France seeks new revenue to tackle a deficit above 5% of GDP and public debt around 114%.