Highways: Bruno Le Maire plans to "tax the excess profits of highway companies"

The revelations in Le Canard Enchaîné on the excess profits of motorway companies last January had the effect of a bomb. However, apart from strong media coverage on the subject, no measures have been taken by the government to recover these juicy profits. In an interview given this morning to our colleagues at LCIBruno Le Maire says he has found a solution.

Two routes studied

There will be no question of “shortening the duration of the motorway concession”, however this was the first path envisaged by the Minister of the Economy. Remember, as we have told you in the past, that the ASF and AREA contract will end in 2036, or that of Escota in 2031 and that of APRR in 2035. This idea has been rejected by the Council of State, underlined Bruno Le Maire.

Under these conditions, only one thing would remain possible, namely “taxing the excess profits of motorway companies”. There, for the time being, the Council of State saw no contraindication. In fact, this proposal will be integrated into the finance bill (2024) and debated by parliamentarians in the coming months.

All that remains is to discover the reaction of the main stakeholders, the dealers. Already at the end of August, the boss of Vinci Autoroutes Pierre Coppey had warned the State: “we are ready to go to litigation”. Will he carry out his threat? And will it be followed by the leaders of other highway companies? Stay tuned, up close.

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