Bernard Arnault may be Frances richest man and perhaps the fourth-richest person in the world but his wealth cant protect him from the slings and arrows of his outraged compatriots.
The news he has applied for Belgian nationality has been met with outrage, from politicians and journalists of all stripes.
They accuse him of being unpatriotic and avoiding taxes, after President François Hollande announced he planned to sock it to the rich, with a 75% levy on all income over one million euros.
Its not the first time the boss of luxury goods firm LVMH has pulled this caper. He moved to the United States in the early 1980s during the regime of the last socialist president François Mitterrand. But Belgium is an insult too far, even though pop star Johnny Hallyday blazed the way by moving there.
Arnault has also given the story extra legs by suing the left-wing newspaper Libération for its cheeky headline, Get lost, you rich bastard.
Heres the offending front page.
Even if he defends the move for financial reasons, Bernard Arnaults application for Belgian citizenship looks like another example of the egotism of the very rich, the paper adds.
As Daniel Trilling at The New Statesman helpfully explains,
The headline is actually a play on a famous gaffe made by the former president, Nicholas Sarkozy, who muttered casse-toi, pov con (get lost, you poor bastard) at a member of the public who refused to shake his hand. The phrase subsequently became a taunt taken up by Sarkozys left-wing opponents.
French politicians are lining up to condemn Arnault. In an interview with Le Point, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, said she was
shocked and accused him of giving a very bad example
How can we explain to people who want to immigrate and are looking for a French passport only for economic reasons that this is unacceptable when the worlds fourth-richest businessman is doing exactly the same thing?
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who ran as the extreme left presidential candidate, told Le Figaro the LVMH head was a parasite
The rich, important people the powerful have no country but money. They do not love their motherland.
Bernard Tapié, a businessman and Sarkozy supporter , was similarly outraged in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper:
I cant believe it
France owes him a lot, but he also owes a lot to France. The state notably helped him financially [in 1984]. When youre the citizen of a country, you need to know how to enjoy the nice sides, but also to accept those which are less so. As a symbol, this would be a catastrophe.
Thomas Adamson at The Associated Press, believes Arnaults defection is a blow to Frances amour-propre.
Bernard Arnault the richest man in Europe has ignited an uproar in France over taxes, citizenship, patriotism and what policies the government needs to promote growth.
Its a pretty impressive achievement for one little statement.
Arnault the CEO of French fashion giant LVMH, owner of houses Louis Vuitton the richest man in Europe and Christian Dior is the symbol of Frances treasured luxury fashion industry.
So when the face of Made in France confirmed that he had applied for dual citizenship in Belgium it struck deep chord in Frances national pride.
In a comment piece, The Wall Street Journal wonders why Arnault bothered to move to Belgium.
Far be it from us to wonder why Mr. Arnaultin a borderless single marketwould need a Belgian passport to do business or see his relatives in Belgium. His company insists he will continue to pay taxes in France, where the pre-Hollande top income rate was 46.8%, compared to 53.7% in Belgium.
But if the billionaires sudden passion for Trappist beer and good chocolate has caught French imaginations, its because it reminds them that tax rates matter. French President François Hollande has made no secret of either his personal dislike of the rich or of his desire to squeeze them for all theyre worth. Now the rich are making it clear they dont intend to get squeezed if they can help it.
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