Baptiste Morin, edited by Romain Rouillard 20:13 pm, March 22, 2023

In his interview with the television news of 13H of TF1 and France 2 this Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron denounced the purchase by some large companies of their own shares, made possible by the colossal profits they reap. And therefore proposed that employees could have their share of the cake.

This is a well-known practice in the United States that Emmanuel Macron denounced on Wednesday. Questioned by Marie-Sophie Lacarrau and Julian Bugier in the television news of TF1 and France 2, the head of state mentioned the purchase by some large companies of their own shares. A maneuver made possible by the comfortable profits earned by these companies and which reduces the number of securities in circulation, thus driving up their stock prices.

€5 billion share buyback at BNP Paribas

A widespread practice across the Atlantic and which seduces more and more French companies. In 2022, CAC 40 companies bought back nearly €24 billion worth of shares. Among the companies targeted by Emmanuel Macron, we can mention LVMH which announced 1.5 billion euros of share buybacks, TotalEnergies and its 2 billion or BNP Paribas whose value of the buybacks reached nearly 5 billion euros.

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Emmanuel Macron spoke of an "exceptional contribution" and it is now up to the government to work on its implementation. In the United States, a 1% tax is applied and is intended to encourage investment. Nevertheless, its effectiveness remains to be demonstrated and could therefore be reassessed at 4% on 1 January 2024.