The French government is widely expected to raise aviation taxes as part of efforts to address a EUR60 billion euro (USD65.5 billion) budget deficit.
According to French news reports, the government is considering raising the so-called solidarity tax on airline tickets by an additional EUR1 billion euros (USD1.09 billion) as part of the 2025 finance bill. For long-haul business class flights exceeding 5,000 kilometres, the tax on airline tickets would triple, increasing from EUR60 (USD65.5) to EUR200 (USD218) per ticket, according to Les Echos and Le Monde newspapers. In economy class, the tax burden for long-haul flights would rise from EUR7.50 (USD8.19) to EUR60. For business aviation, the tax would jump to EUR3,000 (USD3,276) per passenger for long-haul flights, Le Monde reported.
The so-called "Chirac tax" was introduced in 2006 under the late President Jacques Chirac to finance the fight against AIDS in Africa.
In a statement, IATA's director general, Willie Walsh, criticised the French government and urged a comprehensive impact assessment. "The proposal smacks of panic and a lack of joined-up thinking," he charged. "If these tax proposals are implemented, it will be a disaster for France. You cannot tax yourself to prosperity. Aviation is a driver of employment and prosperity, as well as a proven accelerator of growth in other parts of the economy."
Walsh argued that such taxes would stifle growth and employment, hinder tourism targets, and complicate the transition to sustainable aviation fuel. "Is the government aware that France has fewer passengers and serves fewer destinations than it did before the pandemic? Isn't the Minister for Tourism concerned that the target of reaching 100 million tourists will be undermined by these taxes? How does the Environment Minister think that extracting EUR1 billion euros (USD1.09 billion) from French aviation will help with the massively expensive transition to sustainable aviation fuels? What has the Prime Minister to say about these taxes falling hardest on French businesses and harming French jobs?"
Walsh highlighted Sweden's decision to abolish its aviation tax as a more effective strategy for economic growth, advocating for expanding the tax base rather than burdening productive sectors.
His views were echoed by France's national aviation union (Fédération Nationale de l'Aviation et de ses Métiers —FNAM), whose president, Pascal de Izaguirre, highlighted that taxes on domestic flights already amount to 40% of the ticket price.
