CMA CGM cancels French flag registration for seven new container ships over 2027 corporate surtax

Shift in French flag commitments

Marseille-based shipping group CMA CGM has decided not to register seven upcoming giant container vessels under the French International Register (RIF). The decision curtails an earlier corporate plan to expand the group's French-flagged fleet by one third, moving the total number of French-registered ships from 30 to 40. Company representatives communicated the change to trade union delegates during a Social and Economic Committee meeting in late September 2026. Ten mega-containerships ordered from the Chinese shipyard Yangzijiang were originally designated to join the French flag. The group confirmed that the final seven vessels scheduled for delivery across 2027 and 2028 will instead enter service under foreign flags with lower social and administrative standards.

Delivery schedule and fleet distribution

Three vessels from the Chinese shipyard order have already entered service under the French flag. The CMA CGM Notre Dame, a container vessel with a capacity of 24,212 containers, made its maiden port call at Le Havre in July 2026. The CMA CGM Pantheon joined the fleet in August 2026, while the CMA CGM Orsay is scheduled for delivery in autumn 2026. The remaining seven ships covered by the cancellation are the CMA CGM Luxembourg, CMA CGM Versailles, CMA CGM Pont-Neuf, CMA CGM Austerlitz, CMA CGM Cluny, CMA CGM Longchamp, and CMA CGM Nation. These remaining vessels will be delivered gradually through the end of 2028 under foreign registries.

Impact of the 2027 state budget surtax

Company leadership linked the registry decision directly to an exceptional corporate surtax planned in the French state budget for 2027. Under the proposed budget terms, companies reporting annual profits exceeding €2.1 billion will pay the additional levy. CMA CGM reported annual profits of $2.38 billion in 2025, placing the company above the proposed tax threshold. While the maritime sector remained exempt from exceptional surtaxes in the 2026 budget, French authorities decided to include shipping operators in the 2027 fiscal measures. The decision came despite statements from government officials, including Sébastien Lecornu, who had publicly promised fiscal stability to businesses during the preparation of the 2027 budget.

Operating costs and corporate finance

Operating under the French RIF registry requires shipping lines to employ European officers on board each vessel. For the three delivered ships, CMA CGM chose to employ French officers, incurring an additional operating cost of €1.75 million per vessel each year compared with non-European crews. The group, headed by Rodolphe Saadé and Tanya Saadé-Zein, stated that it does not pay dividends and instead reinvests earnings into its operations. Saadé had previously praised the relationship between the company and the state during a ceremony in Le Havre on 2 July 2026.

France is the country that allowed our group to grow and become what it is.

Reversal of previous political pledges

The decision to redirect seven vessels away from the French flag reverses political commitments made over the past year. Saadé first announced the fleet expansion at the Assises de la Mer maritime conference in La Rochelle in November 2025, speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. Group executives reaffirmed the pledge to lawmakers in June 2026 during a formal hearing before the Economic Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly. Facing new tax obligations, CMA CGM stated it must review its capital expenditure plans both in France and internationally to fund the required state contributions.