In the course of the French parliamentary debate on a proposed French law to raise the tax on beer by 160%, the French minister of budget insinuated that the measure would principally affect foreign, multinational brewing companies, which did not, in his eyes, merit any sort of compassion.
“I really hope the Minister did not mean what he said in the Parliament”, commented Pierre-Olivier Bergeron, Secretary General of The Brewers of Europe. “If this were to be the case, then I wonder whether the minister realised the falsity and discriminatory character of the picture he painted”.
A substantial part of the French beer market is held by three brewing companies that are historically, deeply rooted in Europe and have invested locally in France, also in French brands. Purchasing raw materials in France, operating breweries in France and selling their beers through French shops, cafés and ‘brasseries’, these companies are also making a substantial contribution to the 65 000 French jobs and €2.6 billion in government annual revenues that beer creates in France.
Bergeron added: “One wonders, on top of the provocation to the brewing sector beyond the French borders, whether the minister should not keep in mind that France, until further notice, is a Member State of the European Union.”
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Simon Spillane
Senior Advisor – Beer & Society and Communications
The Brewers of Europe
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