François Hollande, First Secretary of the
Socialist Party since 1997, is Ségolène Royal’s
partner. During a televised debate with Michèle Alliot-Marie
(current Defense Minister and supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy), he
declared in June 2006 : “I do not love the rich, I do not
love the rich, - yes, that is the right word”.
This statement gave him a lot of problems when
the couple had to admit that they paid “the wealth tax"
(Impôt de Solidarité sur la Fortune or ISF). France
happens to be one of the few countries that have kept this tax which
many countries consider to be unfair, as it strikes more and more
the middle class. The threshold for the wealth tax is € 750,000
euros and it includes the taxpayers’ home if they own it.
But... what is to be “rich”? François
Hollande declared in January 2007 that France should increase the
income tax of those who earn over €4,000 net per month. ....
This started a squabble within his own political family.
