Bernard Arnault, one of the richest men on the planet, has sharply criticised the economic policies of French President Emmanuel Macron, accusing him of hurting the economy.
Arnault, CEO of the world’s number one luxury goods company LVMH, denounced on January 28 the planned tax increase on French companies, saying it is a “tax on made in France” that will push businesses to move abroad.
“I have just come back from the USA and I could see the wind of optimism that reigned in this country. And when you come back to France, it’s a bit of a cold shower,” Arnault, who was at the inauguration ceremony of the American president, said.
“In the US, taxes will go down to 15 per cent, workshops are subsidised in a number of states and the president (Trump) encourages that,” the head of the French luxury giant said during the presentation of LVMH’s 2024 results.
Arnault noted that the markets quickly developed in the US, pointing at the “incredible success” of a newly opened shop in New York, where people queue in lines of over 100 meters in length, despite the fact the store sold expensive luxury goods and had a very elitist image.
He compared this with France, where the government is working on a new tax of 40 per cent on those who produce in France.
“This is really hard to comprehend. They will tax ‘made in France’ products”, Arnault said.
“It’s not easy to find a better way to slow down our economy. It’s ideal to promote the delocalisation of businesses.”
“I’m not sure if this really is the main goal of the government, but in any case, they will achieve it.”
“If they push through with their plans, that will be the end result, that will be inevitable.”
“While there are different solutions. We have proposed different solutions, looking in the direction of [France’s] bureaucracy.”
“We looked to the US for that, to nominate someone to slash the bureaucracy somewhat. But the moment we start to do that, … [Arnault started laughing] we will be pursued, it’s impossible.”
“That’s what I wanted to say. So the taxes, I prefer to be quiet on this. I prefer to act calmly. Try to act calmly.”
Quand l’homme le plus riche de France et un des plus riches du monde détruit Macron et son gouvernement de socialistes, c’est succulent. pic.twitter.com/4x5x4xArbp
— Bleu Blanc Rouge ! 🇫🇷 (@LBleuBlancRouge) January 28, 2025
In a reaction to Arnault’s speech, members of the government indicated they understood his criticism, but said that everyone had to take part in the efforts to restore public accounts.
“When you have a great entrepreneur who expresses this kind of concern, you have to respect and listen,” Minister Delegate for Europe, Benjamin Haddad told radio network FranceInfo.
“What Bernard Arnault says, we hear it from many SME bosses, business leaders.”
France is having big difficulties in fixing its derailed budget. The new government under PM François Bayrou is looking to the direction of new taxes to get the budget back on track.
France’s public deficit is over 6 per cent of GDP, though it was supposed to be near 4.4 per cent in 2024. In principle, France, just like all EU countries, should even be aiming at a maximum deficit of 3 per cent. But it has been chronically overspending money for years now.
Debt has reached over 113 per cent of the economic output, one of the worst in the continent.
On December 10, ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the country’s credit score to Aa3. It said it had concerns over the growing national deficit.
The country’s budgetary situation has caused the EU to include it in an Excessive Deficit Procedure and it has now been forced to take measures to address its public finances’ situation.
But there is no clear majority since French President Macron lost his majority in parliament, giving the government little room to manoeuvrer.
Bernard Arnault is a highly successful businessman, the richest person in France and third richest in the world. He is said to be worth around €200 billion.
