French with money make plans to relocate

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PARIS, May 13 (UPI) -- France's national election will mean a change of residence for many more French than simply outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy, a real estate firm says.

Winkworth, a real estate firm in South Kensington, Britain, said there has been a 50 percent jump in customer traffic from France since last weekend's election, which analysts attribute to Socialist President-elect Francois Hollande's plans to raise taxes on the wealthy, The Daily Telegraph reported Sunday.

Hollande, who defeated the center-right Sarkozy last weekend, has said his tax policy would include raising the tax rate to 75 percent for those earning $1.2 million per year or more. He also expects to raise the tax rate to 45 percent for those earning $193,000 per year or more.

On the other side of the English Channel, British Prime Minister David Cameron is planning to cut the 50 percent tax rate for those earning $241,000 per year or more to 45 percent. This explains the sudden interest in relocating, said one banker.

Hollande has also said, flat out, "I don't like the rich."

One French financier remarked that the new French president has triggered "the third-biggest exodus from France -- the first being the Revolution and the second when [Socialist President Francois] Mitterrand got into power."