The reform would have limited the amount of sugar in soft drinks. On Monday, however, deputies rejected the first reading of the French health budget. Social security a reform of the “tax soda “despite government support.
An amendment by Socialist deputy Jérôme Guedj, sub-amended by general rapporteur Yannick Neuder (LR), provided for soda tax reform by creating three tax brackets, instead of sixteen, inspired by the British model.
A British tax four times more effective
The British tax “has reduced the proportion of drinks above the first threshold (5 g/ml) by 40%, and the total reduction in sugar intake is estimated at 30 grams per household per week, i.e. an effect four times greater than the French tax”, explains the explanatory memorandum to the amendment.
But Jérôme Guedj’s proposal was rejected by 57 votes to 46. Ecologist, Socialist, Communist, MoDem and Horizons MPs voted in favor, while the RN, and a majority of LR and Ensemble pour la République MPs voted against. France insoumise abstained. Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq (MoDem) supported the amendment, as did his predecessor Frédéric Valletoux (Horizons).
Rate limits rather than taxes
Former Consumer Affairs Minister and EPR Member of Parliament Olivia Grégoire objected, pointing out that the tax would be passed on to the consumer. On behalf of the Insoumis, Hadrien Clouet explained that his group wanted “a slightly firmer policy” and that “instead of settling for taxes, part of which is actually passed on to the consumer […] we should finally regulate the authorized levels of salt, sugar and saturated fatty acids in food”.
Following the vote, Jérôme Guedj expressed his “frustration” and “anger”, and said: “We’re not going to let this happen. Geneviève Darrieussecq said she was “upset and perplexed”. On the other hand, the deputies adopted an amendment by ecologist Sabrina Sebaihi, aimed at introducing a tax on added sugars in processed food products, this time with the support of the Insoumis, and against the advice of the government.