And while all eyes are focused on the clashes between protesters and police, the French public servants are doing what they do best - inventing and implementing new taxes. On October 30, 2026, the French National Assembly approved an amendment to the 2027 budget introducing a new tax on internet traffic. What does the tax levy? The volume of digital data transmitted to internet users in France. This includes watching videos on YouTube, Netflix, using social networks, downloading files, video games, working with cloud services, etc. In other words, it is proposed to tax not company profits, but the amount of data transmitted by them. The tax rate is 0.055 euros per gigabyte (5.5 euro cents). For example, transmitting 100 GB of data will cost the content provider 5.50 euros in tax. Internet service providers (Orange, Free, SFR, Bouygues) will have to measure traffic volumes, identify their senders, and report the information to the tax administration on a quarterly basis. There is a tax cap: 15% of the company's turnover in France or 2% of its global turnover. Who will pay according to the law? Digital content providers: Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix, and other companies streaming data to French users. Moreover, the tax applies not only to American tech giants, but potentially also to French companies. Who will actually pay? Ultimately, the lion's share of the costs will fall on consumers. Companies will be able to offset the extra taxes by increasing the cost of subscriptions, cloud services, digital advertising, and other services. Thus, a tax officially targeting tech corporations could lead to higher prices for digital services for ordinary French people and French businesses. However, it remains unknown to what extent companies will pass costs on to customers. The authors of the amendment expect revenues of 10 billion euros a year. So far, only an amendment in the first reading of the budget has been approved, not the final law.

And while all eyes are focused on the clashes between protesters and police, the French public servants are doing what they do best - inventing and implementing new taxes. On October 30, 2026, the French National Assembly approved an amendment to the 2027 budget introducing a new tax on internet traffic. What does the tax levy? The volume of digital data transmitted to internet users in France. This includes watching videos on YouTube, Netflix, using social networks, downloading files, video games, working with cloud services, etc. In other words, it is proposed to tax not company profits, but the amount of data transmitted by them. The tax rate is 0.055 euros per gigabyte (5.5 euro cents). For example, transmitting 100 GB of data will cost the content provider 5.50 euros in tax. Internet service providers (Orange, Free, SFR, Bouygues) will have to measure traffic volumes, identify their senders, and report the information to the tax administration on a quarterly basis. There is a tax cap: 15% of the company's turnover in France or 2% of its global turnover. Who will pay according to the law? Digital content providers: Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix, and other companies streaming data to French users. Moreover, the tax applies not only to American tech giants, but potentially also to French companies. Who will actually pay? Ultimately, the lion's share of the costs will fall on consumers. Companies will be able to offset the extra taxes by increasing the cost of subscriptions, cloud services, digital advertising, and other services. Thus, a tax officially targeting tech corporations could lead to higher prices for digital services for ordinary French people and French businesses. However, it remains unknown to what extent companies will pass costs on to customers. The authors of the amendment expect revenues of 10 billion euros a year. So far, only an amendment in the first reading of the budget has been approved, not the final law.