The text aimed to limit the amount of sugars in soft drinks. On Monday, November 4, in the first reading of the Social Security budget, the deputies rejected a reform of the “soda tax”despite government support.
An amendment by the socialist deputy Jérôme Guedj, subamended by the general rapporteur Yannick Neuder (LR), provided for reforming the tax on soft drinks by creating three tax brackets, instead of sixteen, inspired by the British model. british tax “It made it possible to reduce by 40% the proportion of drinks above the first threshold (5 grams per milliliter) and the total reduction in sugar intake would be estimated at 30 grams per household per week, an effect four times greater than the French tax. »develops the statement of reasons for the modification.
But Mr. Guedj’s proposal was rejected by 57 votes to 46. The environmentalist, socialist, communist, MoDem and Horizons deputies voted in favor, while RN and a majority of LR and Ensemble pour la République voted against. Rebellious France abstained. Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq (MoDem) supported the amendment, as did her predecessor, Frédéric Valletoux (Horizons).
The “rebels” want to go “further”
The former Minister of Consumer Affairs and EPR deputy, Olivia Grégoire, opposed it, highlighting a possible impact of the tax on the price paid by the consumer. On behalf of the “rebels”, Hadrien Clouet explained that his group wanted “a slightly firmer policy” AND “that instead of being content with taxes, part of which actually falls on the consumer (…) “We are finally managing to regulate the authorized levels in the diet, the salt levels, the sugar levels, the levels of saturated fatty acids”.
At the end of the vote, Mr. Guedj expressed his “frustration” and his ” anger “ymme Darrieussecq said to herself “annoyed and perplexed”. The Minister of Budget, Laurent Saint-Martin, was in favor of the presentation of Guedj’s amendment “to deliberate” on the continuation of the parliamentary trip.
The deputies, on the other hand, approved an amendment by environmentalist Sabrina Sebaihi whose objective is to introduce a tax on added sugars in processed food products, this time with the support of the “rebels” and against the advice of the government.
