Vehicle ‘malus’ increase rejected by French parliament - but could it still come?

The proposed increase of the vehicle ‘malus’ that penalises polluting vehicles, was rejected by France’s parliament on Saturday (October 26), with even MPs from the prime minister’s own party judging it “too hard on poor and middle-class families”.

The 'malus' comprises two taxes paid at the time of vehicle purchase, relating to its CO² emissions and weight.

In terms of CO² emission, the tax currently applies to vehicles that emit over 118g of CO² per km. 

It starts at €50 for emissions of 118g of CO² per km , rising by €25 per gram up to €150 for 122g of CO² per km.

Above 142g of CO² per km, the tax increases by over €100 per gram. 

Its maximum amount is €60,000 for vehicles producing more than 193g of CO² per km.

In terms of weight, the malus applies to vehicles over 1.6tonnes.

The calculation of the vehicle malus tax is based on the vehicle’s standard weight and fuel type, as specified by the manufacturer. The current rules can be found here.

Stricter rules rejected

Prime Minister Michel Barnier had proposed a strengthening of the vehicle malus as part of his 2025 budget.

Under Mr Barnier’s proposed change, the malus would have applied to vehicles from 113g of CO²/km (down from 118g) and 1.5 tonnes (down from 1.6tonnes). 

The proposal was set to raise up to €1billion for the state. 

However, as part of the debate for the 2025 budget, the measure was rejected by 128 votes against 90 on Saturday, October 26.

The 128 opposing MPs from both the far-right Rassemblement national (RN) and the left-wing alliance of Le Nouveau Front populaire - along with members of Mr Barnier’s own party Les Républicains - judged the proposal to be “too negative”.

“It would hit shopkeepers, businesspeople, middle and working class families hard in the name of punitive and ideological ecology”, said RN MP Eddy Casterman.

“This does not mean that we are against the government and Michel Barnier”, said Les Républicains MP Corentin Le Fur. “On the contrary, we are playing our role as parliamentarians to influence certain measures that we feel are too negative”.

The 90 MPs in favour of the measure were from the centrist alliance of Ensemble, the Green party and some MPs from La France Insoumise, which is part of the Le Nouveau Front populaire.

Deadline for 2025 budget

The rejection of the vehicle malus is a blow for the prime minister’s budget plans but does not necessarily mean the death of the proposal.

A revised proposal with added incentives for green initiatives could pass through parliament, however this would take up time that the prime minister may not have.

Indeed, 1,850 proposals of the 2025 budget still need to be debated in parliament before the December 31 deadline.

Read more: French far-right to present a ‘counter-budget’; what do they want changed?

Should MPs stall the budget’s passage through parliament, the prime minister has two tools at his disposal: articles 47 and 49.3 of the constitution. 

Under article 47, should parliament take more than 40 days to approve the budget, he can take it directly to the Senate. 

Alternatively, he could also invoke article 49.3 to suspend the debate and pass the budget through parliament directly.

If he uses this article, the law is considered adopted without being put to a vote, unless a vote of no confidence (motion de censure) is tabled within the following 24 hours.

Mr Barnier’s government does not have a parliamentary majority, and the opposing Nouveau Front populaire has already said it will support such a vote.