Cakes, sweets, oils, drinks: several everyday products could see their prices rise in 2026. In the draft Social Security budget, the government is pushing for new contributions targeting added sugar, certain sugary alcohols and a solvent used to extract vegetable oils. Stated objective: to encourage a more balanced diet and finance the prevention of obesity. Some measures were adopted in committee, others are still debated in the National Assembly. At what price.
Candy tax 2026: anti-sugar scale, targeted products and exemptions
An amendment creates a contribution on processed food products containing added sugars. The scale is progressive per slice of sugar added per quintal: 4 €/quintal under 5 kg, 21 €/quintal between 5 and 8 kg, 35 €/quintal beyond 8 kg. The contribution would be due upon first delivery products in France, free of charge or for a fee, and companies with a turnover of less than 10 million euros would be exempt. It would be raised every January 1 according to inflation excluding tobacco, and its proceeds would go to the National health insurance fund. Beverages remain excluded because they are already subject to the specific contribution on sodas.
Concretely, the order of magnitude at the checkout remains modest for a pack: at €35/100 kg, the theoretical additional cost is equivalent to around €0.35/kg, or almost €0.07 for a 200 g pack of biscuits; at €21/100 kg, around €0.042 for 200 g. The final impact will, however, depend on manufacturers and distributors. As a benchmark, on the soda tax, a Senate report in 2023 indicated a “very limited impact on consumption”, according to CNEWS.
Alcoholic energy drinks and hexane: what could cost more in 2026
THE alcoholic energy drinks type Vody would join the “premix tax”. The applicable rate is
€11/deciliter of pure alcohol for these drinks, compared to €3/dl for certain specific categories of wines and fermented drinks. A telling example: a 25 cl can containing around 20% alcohol contains almost 0.5 dl of pure alcohol, i.e. approximately €5.50 tax alone. These caffeine-based concoctions can mask fatigue and drunkenness, which raises concerns among authorities, and their high sugar content makes them easier to consume. In short, their price could rise sharply.
On the oil side, a contribution of 0.3 cents per liter would hit thehexanesolvent used to extract vegetable oils. This levy weighs upstream but can increase the cost of finished products such as certain oils, margarines, infant milks or prepared meals, hexane being described as neurotoxic and endocrine disruptor. The measure also aims to reduce its use, despite still massive use in the agri-food industry. At the same time, amendments adopted in committee seek to strengthen the
Nutrition Scoreparticularly in advertising, or even to make it compulsory on packaging: “If more than 1,500 brands have adopted it today, large agri-food groups continue not to play the game of transparency”, indicates the explanatory memorandum of the amendment.