France: Barnier Announces Wealth Tax on Super-Rich
The Prime Minister, in his speech to the National Assembly, also spoke of tightening migration policy in an attempt to satisfy both the left and the right
Michel Barnier, Prime Minister of France, presented his government’s programs. The aim is to maintain a constructive dialog with both the right and the left, so while on one side the emphasis is on a tougher migration policy, on the other side a tax is proposed that would hit particularly high profits.
“We need the input of the wealthiest,” Barnier explained while announcing the guidelines of his cabinet to the National Assembly.
The new government will have to deal with a public debt that has reached enormous proportions, and the controversial pension reform is also likely to be changed, hence the need to demand “participation in the collective recovery of large companies generating significant profits,” hence the request for “an exceptional contribution from the richest French people for the sake of financial fairness.”
In his speech to parliament, which is being vigorously contested by the left-wing France Unconquered party (with a sharp waving of electoral cards signifying betrayal of the election results), Barnier also spoke about the suppression of migration policy, a particularly sensitive topic. “We can no longer satisfactorily control our immigration policy, and so the Republican responsibility for integration becomes more complex,” explained the new prime minister. “Visa requirements will become stricter, and detention periods for illegal immigrants will become longer.”
