France may this week finally pass a budget that could save François Bayrou, Emmanuel Macron’s latest prime minister, after tentative support from Socialists and the hard-Right.

But while the French president’s government hailed the cross-party deal as a crucial step in “enabling our country to move forward”, a cabal of top French business leaders said Mr Bayrou was fiddling while France burns.

They warn that the budget, which they say imposes tax rises on big business and fails to significantly slash state spending, runs the risk of pushing companies to flee France in droves just as America and other countries are going the other way.

After the heads of Michelin and Air France said high charges were making it impossible to produce in France and remain competitive, it was luxury LVMH tycoon Bernard Arnault’s turn to enter the fray.

Mr Arnault, whose empire encompasses Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, jeweller Tiffany & Co and champagne maker Moet & Chandon, lashed out at a €8 billion (£6.7 billion) surtax on large companies warning it risks driving them to “expatriate”, notably to America.