Eric Lombard, former minister of economy and finance, in Paris, July 15, 2025. JULIEN MUGUET FOR LE MONDE
The figure is now official: In 2024, approximately 18,525 French households with real estate assets of at least €1.3 million paid no income tax. Even after excluding those who are not tax residents in France and those who died during the year, the number of wealthy individuals escaping taxation – 13,335 in total – remains remarkably high. The figures come from documents provided by the Economy and Finance Ministry to Senators Claude Raynal (Socialist) and Jean-François Husson (Les Républicains, LR), the two heads of the Sénat's Finance Committee.
The documents support recent claimsmade by Eric Lombard, a former finance minister, who stirred controversy in January by stating in Libération that "thousands" of wealthy French citizens pay no income tax because they have "a reference taxable income of zero." A curiosity to some, a scandal to others, as France struggles with budgetary shortfalls.
Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin, who worked with Lombard at the Finance Ministry, immediately denied these allegations, amid complicated budget negotiations. "It is not true that tens of thousands of wealthy French people pay no income tax. There is no document at [the ministry] that would show this," she told the Assemblée Nationale on January 14. Lombard stood by his statements.
