French Assembly backs per-gigabyte tax on streaming and cloud traffic

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

France's National Assembly voted 11-10 on October 30 to charge content providers €0.055 for every gigabyte they send to internet users in France. The amendment, filed three weeks earlier by Socialist deputy Laurent Lhardit, would add a tax on "digital data producers" to the French tax code.

Nothing is enacted. The vote is a first-reading step in the 2027 finance bill, the government argued against it, and the text can still be rewritten or dropped. If it survives, internet access providers would meter traffic and the tax administration would bill the senders, with a cap of 15% of French turnover or 2% of global turnover.

Why it matters

If it survives, every gigabyte of video, game update and cloud sync sent to France carries a price, and subscriptions are where it lands.

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Key Indicators

€0.055

Charge per gigabyte

The rate applied to each gigabyte of data recorded as delivered to French subscribers.

11–10

Assembly vote margin

Fourteen deputies abstained; 35 of 577 took part in the vote.

Deputies present for the vote

Out of 577 seats in the National Assembly.

€10 billion

Projected annual yield

The authors' estimate; the amendment's own traffic figures imply about €11 billion before the cap.

200 billion GB

Annual traffic to French subscribers

Arcep estimate cited in the amendment's written justification.

15%

Cap on French turnover

The text also caps the levy at 2% of a company's total worldwide turnover.

Signatories on the amendment

Includes former president François Hollande, Olivier Faure and Boris Vallaud.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Laurent Lhardit

Deputy, Socialistes et apparentés group; author of amendment I-1358

Sitting deputy; amendment adopted at first reading

David Amiel

Minister for public action and accounts

Opposed the amendment on behalf of the government

Philippe Juvin

General rapporteur, National Assembly finance committee

Committee gave an unfavourable opinion

François Hollande

Former president of France; deputy, Socialistes et apparentés

Among the 68 signatories of amendment I-1358

Organizations Involved

Socialistes et apparentés

Parliamentary group

Filed and defended amendment I-1358

The Socialist group in the National Assembly, which put the per-gigabyte levy into the 2027 budget debate.

VideoLan

Non-profit software organisation

Says the levy would cost it about €1 million a year

The non-profit behind VLC, the free media player, and the clearest example of a small sender caught by a volume-based charge.

Arcep

Telecoms regulator

Would supervise traffic measurement

France's telecoms regulator, whose traffic estimate underpins the revenue projection and whose oversight the amendment borrows for measurement.

Direction générale des finances publiques (DGFiP)

Tax administration

Would collect the levy quarterly

The French tax administration, which would bill content providers on volumes reported by internet access providers.

Timeline

4 events Latest: Yesterday

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October 2026
Assembly adopts the gigabyte levy, 11 votes to 10
Latest Vote

Fourteen deputies abstain and 35 take part. The amendment would charge content providers €0.055 per gigabyte delivered to French subscribers.
Yesterday
Government and finance committee oppose the text
Statement

Minister David Amiel says half the burden would land on smaller and French providers. Rapporteur Philippe Juvin warns of pass-through to advertisers.
Yesterday
Socialist deputies file a per-gigabyte tax on data senders
Legislation

Laurent Lhardit files amendment I-1358 to the 2027 finance bill, with 68 signatures and four new articles for the tax code.
October 9th, 2026
VLC's non-profit puts its exposure at €1 million a year
Reaction

VideoLan says the amendment has no minimum threshold and no exemption for associations or free software, so its own traffic would be taxed.
October 2026

Scenarios

Senate strips the gigabyte levy from the 2027 budget

Possible Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: French budget coverage, including Les Numériques and Clubic, which both stress the vote is one stage in a long process

The Senate, where the centre-right has a majority and the government's allies dominate the finance committee, rewrites or deletes Chapter XXI during first reading. The Assembly can revisit the text, but a deletion that survives the joint committee ends the levy for this budget cycle.

Levy becomes law and applies to traffic from 2027

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: The amendment's authors, who project €10 billion a year, and Arcep's traffic estimate

The text survives both chambers, the Constitutional Council does not strike it down, and the government writes the decree that defines how access providers count and report volumes. Internet access providers then build metering systems and the tax administration issues its first notices.

Rewritten as a narrow levy on the largest platforms only

Possible Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: David Amiel's objection that half the burden falls on smaller and French providers

Lawmakers keep the volume principle but add a threshold, exempting organisations below a set French revenue or traffic level. That answers the VideoLan problem and the government's complaint about French mid-sized providers, while keeping Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix and Akamai in scope.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2019

France's digital services tax (2019)

France imposed a 3% tax on revenue that large technology companies earn from French users, arguing they booked profit in low-tax jurisdictions. The United States opened a trade investigation and threatened retaliatory tariffs on French goods, including wine and cheese.

Then

Washington suspended the tariffs while both sides negotiated at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Now

The French levy stayed in place and became a template: several countries adopted similar national digital taxes while global rules stalled.

Why this matters now

The per-gigabyte levy is the same playbook: a unilateral French charge on foreign platforms, with the same questions about retaliation and who ultimately pays.

2023

European Union 'fair share' consultation (2023)

The European Commission asked whether large traffic generators such as streaming services and cloud providers should contribute to the cost of telecom networks. Network operators argued that a handful of companies account for most traffic.

Then

The consultation drew heavy lobbying from both telecom operators and technology companies.

Now

The Commission did not put forward legislation, leaving the idea to national governments.

Why this matters now

Amendment I-1358 is a national version of the stalled Brussels proposal, applied through the tax code rather than telecom rules.

2020-2023