Socialist MP Philippe Brun during the ongoing debate on the draft budget for 2026, at the Assemblée Nationale in Paris, October 31, 2025. JULIEN MUGUET FOR LE MONDE
It was neither the sweeping tax reform hoped for by some, nor the tax frenzy feared by others. France’s new tax on “unproductive wealth,” approved on Friday, October 31 by MPs in a first reading, is more akin to a modest tweak to the current system of taxing wealth. Its potential yield for the state, still quite uncertain, appears limited. If enacted after a lengthy and uncertain budget process, the measure could primarily impact “small millionaires” rather than the ultra-wealthy.
After rejecting various versions of the Zucman tax on the ultra-rich, the Assemblée Nationale passed an amendment on Friday evening modifying the existing real estate wealth tax (IFI, Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière) and transforming it into a “tax on unproductive wealth.” The legislation, presented by centrist MoDem MP Jean-Paul Matteï and further amended by his Socialist colleague Philippe Brun, secured a majority of 163 votes to 150, thanks to an unexpected alliance of Socialist, MoDem and far-right Rassemblement National (RN) MPs. The rest of the left and right largely opposed the measure.
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