Debates on the Finance Bill have intensified at the French National Assembly. On Saturday October 19, the Finance Committee rejected the “revenue” section, which had been radically modified from the initial version proposed by the government

With 29 votes against 22, the left-wing deputies, united under the Nouveau Front Populaire, supported the new version of the text, while the other parliamentary groups expressed their disagreement, criticizing what they considered an excessive increase in the tax burden, estimated at 60 billion euros, according to Eric Coquerel, chairman of the Finance Committee.

Despite these modifications, it is the government’s original version that will be debated from Monday evening in public session.

A draft thoroughly revised by the commission

The text presented in committee had undergone numerous adjustments. Several crucial articles had been deleted, and amendments representing billions of euros had been added. Major adjustments concerned ecological taxation in particular: tax hikes on electricity, gas boilers and internal combustion vehicles were eliminated. Local authorities also won their case, with the cancellation of measures aimed at reducing their revenues, and the allocation of an additional envelope of 500 million euros.

Virulent criticism from the government and the right

Faced with these changes, tempers flared. Communist MP Emmanuel Maurel defended the adjustments, claiming that the commission had “done the job” by finding new sources of revenue to finance the budget. However, deputies from the center and the right reacted strongly, denouncing what they saw as an unbearable tax surcharge. EPR MP David Amiel described the commission as a “tax carnival”, and Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin denounced a “tax bludgeoning” in a statement published on X (formerly Twitter).

A rejection with no direct consequences for the hemicycle

Despite these stormy debates and the adjustments made by the committee, the amended text will not be examined in plenary session. Instead, the government’s initial version will be submitted to MPs, without taking into account the changes proposed by the committee. However, this tug-of-war promises lively exchanges in the days ahead at the National Assembly.