Bernard Arnault, the boss of luxurious items group LVMH and France’s richest man, has attacked a proposed 2 % tax on billionaires as an assault on France’s financial system and denounced the plan’s architect as a far-left ideologue.
The tax, which might goal wealth above €100 million ($117 million), has gained political traction in France, the place Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faces stress from the Socialist Party to incorporate it within the 2026 funds or face a confidence vote that would topple his authorities.
“This is clearly not a technical or economic debate, but rather a clearly stated desire to destroy the French economy,” Arnault instructed Britain’s Sunday Times.
He accused the plan’s architect, economist Gabriel Zucman of being “first and foremost a far-left activist” who makes use of “pseudo-academic competence” to advertise an ideology geared toward dismantling the liberal financial system, which Arnault described as “the only one that works for the good of all”.
Zucman, a professor at France’s École Normale Supérieure and the University of California, Berkeley, rejected the accusations.
“I’ve never been an activist for any movement or party,” he mentioned on X, including his work was grounded in analysis, not ideology.
Zucman was amongst 300 economists who publicly backed the financial platform of the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire alliance forward of final yr’s legislative elections.
He has not too long ago argued in media appearances that the ultra-rich pay proportionally much less tax than many different residents — a spot the proposed levy goals to shut.
The tax has broad public assist, with an Ifop ballot commissioned by the Socialist Party this month displaying 86 % approval.
By Leigh Thomas; Editor: Christina Fincher
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