French government reconsiders wealth tax as protests intensify

The French government will consider reintroducing taxes on the most wealthy in what is seen as a further measure to appease the gilets jaunes protesters threatening to destabilise Emmanuel Macron’s presidency.

Lifting part of the impôt de solidarité sur la fortune (ISF, solidarity tax on wealth) was a pillar of Macron’s election campaign and one of the first fiscal measures he implemented on taking power in May 2017, leading to his nickname “president of the rich”.

On Wednesday, as gilets jaunes (yellow vests) vowed to continue protests that have seen parts of Paris in flames and violent clashes with police, the government’s spokesman Benjamin Griveaux admitted ISF could be reimposed.

“If the measure we have taken doesn’t work, we’re not idiots, we’ll change it. But first we will have to evaluate it,” Griveaux told RTL radio, adding that the evaluation would happen next year.

Reintroducing the wealth tax has been one of the demands of parts of the gilets jaunes movement that grew out of anger at rising taxes on petrol and diesel.

The government has been forced into a change of direction after last Saturday’s scenes of running clashes with police, torched cars and buildings, and smashed shop fronts in one of Paris’s most exclusive areas, as well as damage to the Arc de Triomphe in a third week of protests.

On Tuesday, the French prime minister, Édouard Philippe, tried to calm the unrest by announcing a freeze on the fuel price rises and on the cost of electricity and gas.

Thomas Mirallès, an unofficial spokesman for the gilets jaunes movement in Perpignan, said it was too little, too late.

“This looks very much like a kind of winter truce, a way of getting through Christmas peacefully,” Miralles said. “Who’s to say the government will not come back in force with these taxes in the spring?”

Various gilets jaunes organisers have called for wider social reforms, including a rise in the minimum wage and higher taxes on international companies, such as Google and Amazon.

Easing the ISF for the wealthy was described by one political commentator as Macron’s “original sin” and has been regarded as being socially divisive at a time when French workers have felt increasingly squeezed financially.

The ISF was imposed on those worth more than €1.3m including their main residence. It has been replaced by the impôt sur la fortune immobilière (ISI), which in effect lifted or reduced the tax on certain properties, share portfolios and life assurances.

Last year, Philippe said the move would make the country more attractive to investors and stop wealthy people leaving France. The ISI came into effect in January and Griveaux has said it will take 18 to 24 months to see if it brings in more revenue.

The gilets jaunes have been calling for another day of action on Saturday while trying to organise some kind of popular leadership. Previous attempts have led to threats being made against protesters putting themselves forward to give media interviews or meet elected representatives.

André Lannée suggested organising Facebook referendums to elect two gilets jaunes representatives for every region.Once elected, he said, the group could then propose new legislation.

“We will arrive at the Elysée with a demand. It will be an official delegation, legitimate as it has been elected by popular referenda. We are not going to smash anything up, there is no interest in smashing up our country.” He concluded: “We let nothing go; we continue.”

An IFOP poll showed Macron’s popularity had dropped to a new low of 23%. Opinion polls showed up to 80% of people supported the gilets jaunes but a higher percentage disapproved of the violence carried out by a small minority.