CMA CGM boss Rodolphe Saade slams French windfall tax plan

As predicted in The Loadstar yesterday, the French government is looking at a windfall tax on ‘super profits’, and hauled CMA CGM boss Rodolphe Saade in front of the Senate to answer questions. The government is eyeing up to a 25% tax on CMA and two energy companies, but Mr Saade, claiming CMA was patriotic, said: “What I want is that we stop looking at CMA CGM and we start looking at my competitors.” He also claimed that no one had come to help when freight rates were $350, reports Bloomberg. “We weren’t sure at one point if we would get through the week. No one came to speak with us or say something. We had to figure it out.” However, the French government did, in fact, guarantee 70% of a €1bn loan the line took out in May 2020. It also supported the carrier in 2012.