LVMH CEO BERNARD ARNAULT: FRANCE ALSO NEEDS TO APPOINT SOMEONE TO SLASH BUREAUCRACY

“I’ve just returned from the USA, as you so kindly noted, and I was able to see the wind of optimism prevailing in that country.

And when you come back to France after spending a few days in the USA, it’s a bit of a cold shower, I must say.

You get the impression that in the USA, you’re welcomed with open arms, taxes are going to drop to 15%, the workshops you can build in the USA are subsidized in a whole series of states, and the American president encourages this.

The market is growing fast.

Just look at the new boutique Pietro has opened in New York, which is an incredible success.

Frankly, there are 100-meter-long waiting lines.

It’s really quite exceptional.

And yet, it’s very, very elitist.

So when you come to France and see that we’re about to raise taxes by 40% on companies that manufacture in France, it’s almost unbelievable.

So we’re going to tax Made in France.

If you want to cool down optimism, it’s hard to beat that.

It’s the ideal way to encourage relocation [of companies to other countries].

We offered other solutions.

Obviously, bureaucracy [prevents that].

To do that, we’d have to do what they do in the U.S., appoint someone to slash the bureaucracy a bit.

But as soon as you try to do that, you’re sued, it’s impossible.”

Source: LVMH/Nouvel Obs, January 28, 2025