French legislators rejected tax amendments on fossil fuel profits one day before TotalEnergies reported third-quarter net income of $8.2 billion, up 124% year on year. The company earned $19.5 billion in profits since January, nearly double the same 2025 period, according to the report.
Civil society groups including 350.org, Action Justice Climat Paris, Attac France, and Extinction Rebellion staged a protest near the National Assembly on the day of the profit announcement. They called for taxation of fossil fuel company profits without delay.
The groups said every amendment to tax fossil fuel profits was rejected by MPs in yesterday's vote on France's 2027 budget. Fanny Petitbon, France Manager at 350.org, stated that "when prices rise, ordinary people are told to tighten their belts and governments are expected to pick up the bill." She added that the vote was "a missed opportunity, not the end of the fight."
350.org criticized TotalEnergies for using household affordability concerns as leverage against taxation while expanding oil and gas production and increasing shareholder payouts. Rukiya Khamis, East Africa Programme Manager at 350.org, said the company's "years of impunity while driving human rights and climate violations across Africa must end."