The shipping giant CMA CGM, which owns the media group CMA Media including BFM Business, has decided to revise its plan to expand its fleet under the French flag. This change comes in response to a proposed exceptional tax on the profits of large companies outlined in the 2027 French budget. The company will scale back its expansion to avoid the tax, which would apply to companies with profits exceeding 2.1 billion euros. Seven large container ships scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2028 will no longer be registered under the French flag, according to an official, confirming reports from Le Monde and Le Marin. CMA CGM had previously made a strong commitment during the Maritime Conference in La Rochelle in November 2025, in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron. At that time, the company pledged to increase its fleet registered in France by a third, from 30 to 40 ships, by registering ten new container ships under the French merchant marine flag, known as RIF. This commitment was reaffirmed before the Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly in June 2026. So far, the first three of these ships—CMA CGM Notre Dame, CMA CGM Pantheon, and CMA CGM Orsay—have been registered under the RIF and are now operating under the French flag. The remaining seven ships—CMA CGM Luxembourg, Versailles, Pont Neuf, Austerlitz, Cluny, Longchamp, and Nation—were scheduled for delivery by the end of 2028. The decision to register the remaining ships under a flag with fewer social obligations was communicated to trade unions last week through the company's employee representative committee (CSE), according to AFP. The RIF flag requires that officers on board be European, which has led to additional costs for CMA CGM. The first three ships have French officers, adding about 1.75 million euros in annual costs per ship. The company has stated that the French flag is more expensive to operate compared to other flags. The proposed tax in the 2027 budget would apply to companies whose profits exceed 2.1 billion euros, according to Le Monde and Le Marin. Unlike in 2026, the maritime sector would be affected by this new tax. CMA CGM, a family-run company led by Rodolphe Saadé and his sister Tanya Saadé-Zein, has stated that it does not pay out dividends and reinvests most of its profits back into the company. To fund the new tax, the company will need to "review its investment envelopes in France and abroad," according to an official. CMA CGM is the third-largest container shipping company in the world, behind the Italian-Swiss firm MSC and the Danish company Maersk, and ahead of Chinese Cosco and German Hapag Lloyd. A spokesperson emphasized that its Danish, Swiss, and Chinese competitors do not face this new tax, and to remain competitive, the company must reduce certain costs. The company also plans to continue hiring officers from the National School of Merchant Marine (ENSM) to support ongoing personnel replacements. In general, CMA CGM benefits from a special tax system called the tonnage tax, which applies a lump sum based on the volume of goods transported by its maritime subsidiary, rather than on its profits. This tax system exists in many countries with merchant navies, including Greece, and has been criticized for giving shipowners a significant advantage, especially when they make large profits. CMA CGM has pointed out that it has paid the tonnage tax for over twenty years, even during periods of deficit. The company also notes that the proposed profit tax would apply only to its French operations, which account for 2 to 3 percent of its global revenue, while the tonnage tax applies to all its maritime activities.