Budget 2026: The Senate Attacks Cruises and Votes for a Tax for Passengers

The return on this tax is estimated at 75 million euros per year. It will be used to finance the protection and development of coastlines.

The Senate voted Monday 1st December 2025 to create a tax eco-friendly for international cruises: 15 euros per passenger and by stopover in France, for a return estimated at 75 million euros per year in order to finance the protection and development of coastlines.

The measure, carried by Les Républicains senators, was narrowly adopted with the support of the left, despite opposition from the executive and part of the rest of the government camp.

A tax on the “polluter pays” principle

This tax, based on the principle from “polluter pays”, aims to compensate for the “particularly heavy external effects” of international cruises for coastal and port areas, according to the senators behind the measure.

Senator LR Jean-Marc Délia stressed that every year, liners emit more than 7 million tonnes of CO2 in Europe, and emit air pollutants comparable to those of a billion vehicles.

Similar measures already exist in several European and international ports and this tax would not harm the attractiveness of the sector, he defended.

Without succeeding in getting them adopted, left-wing and environmentalist senators proposed similar contributions but with greater returns.

The Minister of Public Accounts Amélie de Montchalin clarified that it was unfavorable to the measure, its writing not allowing, according to her, to differentiate between cruise ships and ferries, worrying for example about the consequences on ferries to Corsica or coming from across the Channel.

These votes are not yet final because the draft budget will continue to be examined in Parliament until mid-December at the earliest.