The French Socialist party says it will fight to introduce a flagship wealth tax to raise revenue by targeting France's richest people, as the divided parliament prepares to begin debating next year's budget. Boris Vallaud, the head of the Socialist party grouping in parliament, said on Wednesday that taxing very high-wealth individuals in France was one of our principal battles and we're going to put all our energy into it.
The motion of no-confidence against Bayrou's government was tabled by the Socialist Party after the collapse of talks on pension reforms. Bayrou does not have a majority in parliament's lower house, the National Assembly, and the vote underscores the fragility of his position.