The French government makes more than 92% in tax and social security on the salaries of highly-paid traders and bankers, according to research prepared for Financial News. The combined tax burden on bankers and their employers in Paris is the highest in Europe and is 62% higher than in the City of London.

The high levels of tax and social security in continental Europe help explain why almost all US and European banks run their investment banking operations from London and why more than 200,000 French nationals work in London.