On a mule

We would suggest that François Bayrou, before he calls for everyone's efforts on the budget, read Challenges magazine if he hasn't already. As every year, it features a ranking of the 500 richest people in France. The title of the report is straightforward: "France, a land rich in the super-rich," and it is "a reflection of favorable circumstances but also of the flourishing health of French-style capitalism."

Cumulative amount: 1,128 billion euros. With a 2% tax, that would already be 22 billion, not bad for 500 ultra-rich people. But here's the problem: it could force them into exile.

Indeed, we can clearly see Rodolphe Saadé, owner of CMA-CGM, leaving the 30 million villa he bought in 2024 to escape on a makeshift boat. Or Axel Dumas, who runs Hermès, the top-ranked company, an elegant dandy, we're told, and a skilled horseman, setting off at dawn to leave the country forever, mounted on a poor mule. François Bayrou is probably thinking about it.