From The Connexion, October 29:
A 0.8% increase to home and vehicle insurance is planned to be introduced from 2027
A new so-called ‘riot tax’ to cover the cost of repairs from protests in France is set to be levied on insurance policies starting from January 2027.
The ‘tax’ will take the form 0.8% levy on home and vehicle insurance policies, as well as policies held by local authorities and businesses.
Money raised will be siphoned off into a fund specifically for damage caused by rioting and urban violence. The fund will receive around €400 million per year, the lion’s share of this directly from the new levy.
The policy, first suggested in 2023 and included in the 2026 budget but yet to come into force, made headlines once again following damage caused in protests on October 17 and 24, which estimates suggest has reached €1 billion.
However, the fund is not retroactive and will not cover damage from these riots or any others that take place this year.
While the levy is legal following its inclusion in the 2026 budget, the decree introducing it still needs to be approved by France’s Conseil d’Etat before it can be implemented, with the body set to look over the proposal in the coming weeks.
If validated, a full overview of the regulations will be published in France’s Journal officiel.
It is modelled on a similar levy for natural disasters (catastrophe naturelle), which sees funds raised from a special levy on policies set aside to be used solely in the event of claims following a natural disaster.
The ‘riot tax’ has been criticised as an additional expenditure for households during a cost of living crisis, and a punishment against residents and vehicle owners who must now foot the bill for the actions of a violent minority.
However, the state has maintained it is necessary to provide assistance for smaller businesses damaged during protests through a collective effort. It has noted too that some insurers are now hesitant to offer riot coverage, leaving smaller businesses at risk.
Independent of this levy, a ‘rioter pays’ bill (casseurs-payeurs) has recently been approved by senators. It would see people found guilty of participating in a gathering that led to damage or looting held civilly liable for some of the repair costs....
....MUCH MORE
The "Rioters Pay" bill is getting more pushback because of, well, the observation made by Frédéric Bastiat after the February Revolution of 1848.*
From Reuters, October 27/28:
Critics attack 'anti-democratic' French bill making rioters pay
A proposed French law making rioters liable to pay up to €10,000 ($11,150) for damage they cause faces a backlash from rights groups and some lawyers who say it attacks the basic democratic right to take to the streets to protest.President Emmanuel Macron's government, under pressure to quell social protests accompanied by some of France's worst unrest in years, says the law is needed to compensate victims of the vandalism that often follows protests, such as the looting and rioting seen across the country on October 17....
endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.”
