Senate report suggests 'rationalizing' €211 billion in business aid

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After six months of hearings from the heads of major French groups, parliamentarians Fabien Gay (Communist) and Olivier Rietmann (LR) are calling for a "shock of transparency" in this system that is almost indecipherable.

Bernard Arnault, LVMH CEO, in Paris, May 22, 2024. (Denis Allard/Libération)

Three great mysteries haunt France. Number 1: Who was the Man in the Iron Mask? Number 2: Where is Alésia? Number 3: What is the exact amount of aid paid to businesses each year ? This third question, perhaps the thorniest of all, was addressed in January by a Senate commission of inquiry launched by Communist MP Fabien Gay and chaired by his Republican colleague Olivier Rietmann.

The objective was to clear the way for a thicket giving rise to various figures with sometimes very wide ranges, since more than 2,200 devices "are currently listed", explains the summary of the report published this Tuesday , July 8. But also to formulate proposals in order to better control what the unions describe as