Property tax: Faced with political outcry, the government promises a future "progress report"

"We reserve the right to question the relevance of this measure in a few months, during a progress review," said government spokesperson Maud Bregeon during the press briefing following the Council of Ministers meeting.

She explained that this increase corresponded to "a recalculation that was done automatically" of the "comfort" criteria for housing.

Paid by some 32 million owners, property tax is based, in addition to the surface area in square meters, on so-called "comfort" criteria such as the presence of running water, electricity, toilets or sinks in the dwelling.

The presence of each of these elements artificially increases the number of square meters taken into account and, mechanically, the amount of the tax.

As soon as it was announced, this unexpected increase, which must be communicated to the people concerned by letter from the Directorate General of Public Finances, sparked an outcry across the entire political spectrum.

The first to react, the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, deplored that the owners had "become the cash cows" of the government which, according to him, "tried secretly to impose this measure behind the back of the national representation".

Denouncing a "stab in the back for French owners", the far-right official, speaking on the sidelines of the Milipol trade fair, "solemnly called on the Prime Minister to abandon this measure".

"We are totally opposed to this new scheme which aims once again to take money from the pockets of French men and women and to refuse to make the richest in this country contribute," said Mathilde Panot, leader of the La France Insoumise deputies, during a visit to the Congress of Mayors.

Also speaking at the Congress of Mayors of France, former Macronist Prime Minister Gabriel Attal asserted that if he were "in office", he would not have "allowed (his) administration to make this decision".

Arguing for "a France of homeowners", the leader of the Renaissance party stated that while "many things have been successful in recent years from an economic point of view", real estate and housing, "objectively, it is a failure".

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.