French insurers force climb-down over tax changes

As finance ministries across Europe wrestle with the question of how best to tax insurance policies, the defeat of a new tax bill in France highlights the importance of winning the insurance industry on-side before governments attempt anything too ambitious.

After a fierce lobbying campaign, insurers rejoiced in the death of a new law that they estimate could have seen them paying out an extra EUR2.2 billion a year.

Had the law gone through, it would have radically altered the way in which French