News / CMA CGM chief grilled by French parliamentary commission on profits, tax breaks

To a backdrop of France’s political, budgetary and social headwinds, CMA CGM chief, Rodolphe Saadé, found himself before a parliamentary commission earlier this week to respond to criticism that his group was making substantial profits thanks to tax breaks, without investing sufficiently in its home country in return.

The fact that it came on the eve of a day of action by French labour unions whose slogan was ‘make the rich pay’ – to reduce the country’s public spending deficit – gave an added edge to the grilling, Mr Saadé having a personal fortune estimated at almost $8bn.

However, the Beirut-born helmsman was in combative mood, telling MPs that CMA CGM had made significant investments in France while the specific nature of the ocean shipping market justified tailored tax treatment.

While attention has focused on Mr Saade’s meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office earlier this year at which he unveiled a $20bn investment programme in the US over the next four years, he said that the group has invested $14bn in France over the last five years, the equivalent of 30% of its global investment budget, even though it now accounts for only 12% of its global turnover.

Of this amount, $9.5bn was spent on acquisitions or investments described as “strategic” including freighter aircraft from Airbus and shareholdings in Air France-KLM, and struggling French ro-ro operators, Brittany Ferries and La Méridionale.

Turning to the tax issue, he warned: “France is already the world champion of taxes. If we are taxed even more, we will invest less, we will develop less and we will have difficulty moving forward.”

The Marseille-based group employs 20,000 people in France out of a total workforce of 160,000.

Quizzed by MPs on the maintenance of the ‘tax on tonnage scheme’ – a fiscal loophole that favours the ocean shipping sector by smoothing out the very strong cyclical nature of the business but which means operators pay far less than firms who pay tax on annual profits – Mr Saadé argued that the scheme was in force in 22 out of 26 European countries, and even worldwide, from the US to Singapore, covering 90% of the global fleet.

“Calling this scheme into question would be a fatal blow to the maritime industry,” he said.

CMA CGM posted a net profit of $5.7bn in 2024, up almost 57% year-on-year.

Mr Saadé was also keen to point out that the ‘tax on tonnage’ scheme only applies to 60% of the group’s global activity, its other business lines, such as multi-modal logistics and port handling, being liable to the increase in business tax for which provision is made in France’s 2026 state budget.

He also drew attention to CMA CGM paying a windfall tax of €500m in 2025 (and of €300m in 2026) to help reduce France’s budget deficit.

“This is an unprecedented effort and one which must remain of an ‘exceptional’ nature, Mr Saadé, underlined, in response to MPs who would like to see it made a permanent (annual) contribution.

Mr Saadé also highlighted that more of CGM CGM’s assets were now paying tax in France, such as the holding company, previously based in Lebanon but now situated in Marseille and also Ceva Logistics, which has shifted its HQ from Switzerland to the French Mediterranean city.