Assurance-vie is a long-term savings and investment contract which is hugely popular in France. The product is far more than standard life insurance - assurance décès - which merely provides a capital sum on death.
This month the French national auditor, the Cour de Comptes, released a report warning that the product’s highly favorable tax treatment now produces significant windfall effects, costing the State an estimated €12 billion each year. The institution argues that these advantages no longer align with the original purpose of encouraging long-term savings that support the real economy.
