French lawmakers have voted to scrap a government proposal to introduce a tax on sugary processed foods.
Deputies in the National Assembly voted 86 to 58 to adopt cross-party amendments removing Article 8 from the 2027 Social Security Financing Bill.
The initiative, unveiled earlier this month by health minister Stéphanie Rist, sought to impose a progressive levy on six pre-packaged food categories: biscuits, cakes, industrial pastries, confectionery, chocolate bars, and breakfast cereals.
Under the draft legislation, the levy applied exclusively to items containing at least 10g of sugar per 100g and at least one food additive, with rates capped at €22 ($24.6) per 100kg.
Artisanal and protected-origin goods were exempt.
Defending Article 8 in parliament, Rist said the mechanism was designed to encourage product reformulation rather than penalise consumers but noted that 40 rounds of voluntary discussions with food processors had failed to secure firm industry commitments.
"The tax, which is progressive, aims to encourage manufacturers to reduce the amount of sugar in their recipes," Rist said.
She cited a 46% reduction in sugar content in UK soft drinks between 2015 and 2020 following the introduction of that country’s levy.
However, opposing deputies argued the levy would fuel grocery inflation and disproportionately burden lower-income households.
Opposing lawmaker Justine Gruet said the levy would “reduce the purchasing power of our citizens without actually affecting their eating habits or sugar consumption”.
She added: “In short, yes to prevention, yes to nutrition education within the family unit, but no to new taxes that will not solve the problem.”
French food industry trade body ANIA had also heavily criticised the plan, warning it would severely impact consumer purchasing power and hit suppliers that have "reached the limit of their resilience”.
France's Economic, Social and Environmental Council supported the move “with reservations”.
The advisory body recommended first formalising mandatory nutritional targets with suppliers, arguing a tax mechanism should only be implemented “on products that do not meet the objectives set after the collectively defined deadline”.
The rejection deprives France's agricultural health insurance branch of €300m in projected annual receipts.
The broader financing bill faces a formal National Assembly vote on 5 November before heading to the Senate on 16 November, where the government could seek to table a revised amendment before the 15 December budget deadline.
