Bloomberg View: France's Fleeing Billionaire
Hollande vs. Arnault: Time for a champagne summit?
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It’s a shame that France’s two most powerful people, its president and its richest man, have been unable to get beyond populist posturing and recrimination in their battle over taxes. They may have missed a golden opportunity to find common ground on restoring growth to their country’s beleaguered economy.
The clash erupted after Bernard Arnault, the chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, acknowledged that he has applied for Belgian citizenship. He said this was a “personal action” and promised to continue paying French taxes as before. Even so, the move was seen as a ploy to avoid—or at least express disapproval of—a 75 percent levy on high earners that France’s Socialist government has included in its 2013 budget.