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French Assembly Narrowly Backs RN Plan to Toughen Social-Fraud Penalties

The razor-thin vote exposes fragile alliances ahead of a decisive test on the full bill.

Overview

  • The RN amendment, adopted Monday by 27–24, passed against the government's and the bill rapporteur's advice during debate on a social and tax fraud package.
  • The measure sets a floor fine at three times the undue benefit and lifts it to five times on a first repeat offence, with social benefits suspended from a third offence.
  • Under current law, penalties scale with the severity of the case and are capped at four times the monthly social security ceiling, which stands at €4,005 in 2026.
  • Left-wing bids to tighten action on tax evasion failed, including a Socialist plan to create a registry of artworks worth more than €50,000 to help track assets.
  • Voting cut across party lines, with the left opposed and LR, Renaissance and Horizons split, while one MoDem deputy voted in favor and another abstained.