The wealthiest French can rest easy. This tax news will make them happy.

• For the time being, France will not introduce a tax on assets exceeding €100 million.
• The left continues to demand a greater share of funds from the wealthiest citizens.
• The introduction of a minimum tax for the wealthiest will be a key issue in the 2027 presidential campaign.

The proposal to introduce a 2% tax on assets exceeding €100 million in France was put forward by socialists, communists, greens and members of parliament from La France Insoumise (Untamed France).

228 MPs, including Marine Le Pen from the National Socialist Party, voted to reject the motion, while 172 voted against. Socialist Party MPs proposed a new solution in the form of a 3% general asset tax. This proposal also failed to gain a majority.

The government is looking for ways to reduce the budget deficit

Problems related to the public finance deficit in France forced the Prime Minister and the government to prepare a budget that would reduce spending but also increase tax revenues.

One of the proposed solutions was to introduce a new Zucman tax, named after economist Gabriel Zucman, who proposed a 2% rate on the total wealth of the wealthiest citizens.

Left-wing MPs explained in parliament that the wealth of the 500 richest people in France was equivalent to 6% of GDP in 1993, while in 2025 it would already be 43%.

The government's position was presented by the Minister of Public Finance, Amelie de Montchalin, who warned against the risk of tax emigration of the wealthiest people and the unconstitutionality of the proposed tax.

If this tax were introduced, it would generate approximately €20 billion in revenue for the budget. However, the "hunt for the rich" strategy has sparked debate about whether, for example, private foundations that run museums and finance the purchase of works of art should also be included in the calculation of wealth.

The new approach to taxation assumes that what counts is not profit, dividend income, interest on bonds, rent, etc., but the value of the property.

So instead of taxing earnings, land, paintings, blocks of shares, but also the value of the company that a citizen owns, are valued.

The new tax was to be paid by tens of thousands of citizens

Although it was initially suggested that the new regulations would cover only 2,000 French people, over time this number has grown significantly and is now estimated to number as many as tens of thousands.

Gabriel Zucman commented on the results of the vote in the National Assembly in the media, saying: - The introduction of a minimum tax for the richest will be a key issue in the presidential elections in 2027.

Following the vote in the lower house of parliament, the draft budget will be submitted to the Senate . Its adoption is scheduled for the end of December.