This is a victory for La France insoumise (LFI) and a defeat for the president’s camp. This Thursday, the deputies approved the first reading of the elimination of VAT on basic necessities, accompanied by a price freeze during the APBN audit.
The decision passed narrowly, with 70 votes in favor and 62 votes against. He received support from the entire left wing, while the government camp opposed him. National Rally (RN) abstained.
For LFI, VAT is a “socially unfair” tax, because low-income households spend more of their income on the tax than the richest households. The aim is to support purchasing power by lowering prices of basic goods, while preventing distributors from increasing their margins through price controls.
Finished!
We just pushed back against Lecornu: there will be no VAT increase for the self-employed.
This is the result of your exemplary mobilization. We carry on, together. pic.twitter.com/VYURZ9Nr9m
— Clémence Guette (@Clemence_Guette) November 20, 2025
Exchanges that live in hemicycles
This debate was marked by heated exchanges between LFI and RN, the latter of which proposed similar measures but without price controls.
“You reject oversight. This means allowing large-scale multinational retail companies to increase their margins,” said rebel lawmaker Aurélien Le Coq. Jean-Philippe Tanguy (RN) replied: “We are not in the Soviet regime, and price controls are illegal. You are not going to manage billions of referrals across the country. »
General budget rapporteur Philippe Juvin questioned the constitutionality of the measure.
This adoption does not constitute implementation in any case: the text still has to pass through other stages of the parliamentary decision-making process. And, barring any surprises, the revenue side of the finance bill should be rejected in its entirety, if deputies manage to complete its hearing by midnight Sunday.
