Will flavored wines soon be subject to the "premix" tax in France?

The Social Security Financing Bill for 2020 is currently being examined by MPs in the National Assembly. And a few days ago, an amendment concerning a certain category of wine was passed. Introduced by LREM MP Audrey Dufeu Schubert, it provides for the introduction of a tax on "premixes" - which are drinks mixing alcohol and non-alcoholic preparations - containing wine. The aim of this measure is to dissuade young people from drinking wine, as they are the main consumers targeted by these drinks. Until this vote, however, flavored wines such as grapefruit rosé, strawberry-red and peach-white were exempt from the tax. The tax only applied to pure alcohol-based "premixes". For the FFVA (Fédération française des vins d'apéritif), this tax is not entirely justified, and it fears that it will lead to a "carry-over effect to more alcoholic products". Here are some explanations.

An amendment recently passed by the French National Assembly

The MP behind this extension of the premix tax to aromatized wines considers it "essential, from the point of view of both public health and tax justice". To justify her amendment, she explains that as these drinks are mainly made from foreign wines, French producers would only be "very marginally" affected. She also points out that perry and cider are not affected by this tax, which has been set at 3 euros per deciliter of alcohol. And she's not the only MP to believe that this measure is necessary to protect young consumers. Other elected representatives believe that these aperitif drinks target young people and women, while conditioning "uses that can lead to dependence". For Agnès Buzyn, the French Minister of Health, this proposed tax is a step in the right direction, since "the current exemption for wine-based flavored drinks has no justification in terms of public health".

A measure deemed worrying by the French Federation of Aperitif Wines

While many MPs and the Minister of Health seem to agree with this amendment, the FFVA does not. On the contrary, its president, Aymeric de Beauvillé, believes that this tax is "far removed from the public health issues at stake, as the aperitif wines are low in alcohol content and not widely consumed by young people". The Federation bases its arguments on panel figures showing that 80% of these drinks are consumed by the over-35s. In its press release, the Federation expresses its concern that this tax, aimed at products with low alcohol content (less than 10%), is primarily "behavioral". It also points out that these beverages meet a demand from consumers wishing to reduce their alcohol consumption "while retaining a convivial character". In the meantime, we'll have to wait for the final passage of the Social Security Financing Bill for 2020 to get to the bottom of this.