Coca-Cola Co: It's Our Ball & We're Taking It Home

By: Chris Mercer - 8 September 2011 15:30

Coca-Cola Co has reacted to a tax hike in France by "re-evaluating" investment and cancelling a birthday party.

Coca-Cola's fractious relationship with France has taken another turn for the worse. Incensed by the government's decision to raise tax on sugar-added soft drinks by almost four-fold, the group has suspended a planned investment in the country.

It has also cancelled a 40th birthday party for its Pennes-Mirabeau plant near Marseille, which, really, just seems a bit petty.

Then again, Coca-Cola and the French authorities have a long history of antagonism. The French government briefly banned Coke following the end of the Second World War.

I expect that we will see more 'handbags' in the run-up to the tax implementation date, in January 2012.

Of course, it's also just possible (isn't it?) that Coca-Cola is using the tax hike as a convenient juncture at which to review an investment that probably looks less appealing given the downturn in western economies.