2026 Budget: "Zucman" tax, tax on multinationals... Xavier Bertrand denounces the "tax nonsense fair"

For once, Xavier Bertrand is on the same page as his party leader, Bruno Retailleau . Just hours after the former Interior Minister denounced on RTL the "tax madness" that, according to him, has recently gripped the National Assembly, making the 2026 budget "even less passable than yesterday," the LR president of the Hauts-de-France region echoed his sentiments. The issue at hand: the recent measures passed by the deputies—notably the €26 billion tax on multinationals and the doubling of the GAFA tax, from 3% to 6%, targeting American tech giants. Added to this are the debates expected on Friday or Monday regarding increased taxation of the wealthiest individuals.

At the heart of these upcoming budget discussions, therefore, is the controversial Zucman tax , which, however, has very little chance of being adopted—whether in its initial version (a minimum tax of 2% on assets exceeding €100 million) or in a "light" version (3% starting at €10 million, but excluding innovative and family-owned businesses). While the proposal has been revised, it remains championed by the Socialists, determined to maintain pressure on the Prime Minister after their victory on pension reform, which they secured a promise to suspend in exchange for their vote not to censure the government.

Also read: In Parliament, the adoption of the budget is increasingly uncertain

Invited to BFMTV on Wednesday evening, Xavier Bertrand didn't mince words about these changes, calling the new provisions "tax nonsense" and symptomatic of "extortion." This astonishment was shared by Economy Minister Roland Lescure, for whom "tax fairness has given way to tax one-upmanship," while government spokesperson Maud Bregeon attempted to downplay the votes after the Council of Ministers meeting, reminding everyone that we are "only at the very beginning of the parliamentary process." This did little to reassure the former Labor Minister, however, who denounced the drift: "It's a complete mess," he declared, citing the Zucman tax as yet another "fiscal folly," on par with the government tax on holding companies, championed by "people who know nothing about economics."

Furious at the direction the budget has taken, the president of "Nous France" denounced a "constant escalation," resulting from a "parliamentary debate hijacked by La France Insoumise and the National Rally." He pointed to the adoption of the tax on multinationals, made possible by an alliance between the left-wing bloc and the National Rally. "Two accomplices," he scoffed, more "interested" in their own "interest" than in that of "France," and driven by the same objective: to derail the budget in order to bring down Sébastien Lecornu and, consequently, force Emmanuel Macron to resign. Xavier Bertrand then hammered home his point firmly: "We must stop pretending they're playing the parliamentarian card. Let's not be fooled."