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Socialist Royal wants 'half of Total profits' to pay French fuel bills
PARIS
Petroleumworld.com, July 15, 2008
Former French presidential candidate Segolene Royal called on Tuesday for the government to tax half the profits of oil giant Total to help pay for soaring consumer fuel bills."I find the government particularly inert," faced with spiralling oil costs and the knock-on effect on the population, the Socialist Royal, who lost the race against President Nicolas Sarkozy last year, told France Inter radio.
"We would only need to take back half of Total's superprofits to turn them into 300-euro (480-dollar) cheques," that would be "given to families and pensioners so that they can fill up their tanks for the winter."
Royal is vying to take the helm of the Socialist Party in November and has said she hopes to run for the French presidency again in 2012.
Her Socialist rival, Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe, also called last month for heavier taxes on the French oil giant, accusing its leaders of "gorging themselves" on profits boosted by the rise in oil prices.
Last month, Royal called for Total's profits to be redistributed to the French population, describing them as "a collective asset".
The Socialist Party had distanced itself from her comments, saying it was in favour of a higher tax on oil profits, but stressing that Total was a private company and that any tax increase would need to be negotiated.
Story from AFP
07/15/2008 08:36 GMTCopyright© 2008 respective author or news agency. All rights reserved.
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