Eiffage, Vinci shares fall as France plans to raise motorway, airport tax

Investing.com -- Eiffage and Vinci shares fell sharply on Tuesday after the French government proposed a significant increase in the tax on motorway concessions and major airports, raising concerns about the impact on the companies' concession earnings.

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Eiffage shares fell 3.4% to €102.35, while Vinci shares dropped 2.8% to €108, with both stocks trading near their 52-week lows. The moves contrasted with a more limited decline in the broader French market. The CAC 40 had closed almost flat on Monday and was trading around 8,100 on Tuesday.

The French government plans to increase the tax on long-distance transport infrastructure, known as TEITLD, to as much as 12.2% from 4.6%, with the measure expected to raise about €800 million in additional annual revenue, taking total proceeds to roughly €1.4 billion from around €600 million currently.

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The proposal would apply a progressive rate based on the profitability of operators, with the current tax applying to companies generating more than €120 million in infrastructure revenue and with average profitability above 10%. The government said the measure would be included in its 2027 budget proposal.

The planned increase is particularly relevant to Vinci Autoroutes and Eiffage's motorway concession business. Eiffage's APRR and AREA networks generated €1.46 billion of toll revenue in the first half of 2026, while its French motorway concessions are a major part of its concessions business.

The tax is already weighing on concession margins. Eiffage said its motorway concessions were affected by the 4.6% transport infrastructure tax, with its H1 2026 presentation showing an EBITDA margin of about 72% for APRR and AREA and explicitly noting the tax's impact.

The government said it would prevent motorway operators from passing the higher tax through to toll prices, which could limit their ability to offset the additional burden through higher tariffs. For airports, operators have greater scope to reflect the tax in customer pricing.

The additional tax revenue is intended to fund a new "Ambition transports" fund for maintaining, modernising and adapting existing transport infrastructure, with the changes proposed as part of the 2027 budget.