The article is devoted to the analysis of the specifics of the tax mechanism of modern France in the field of entrepreneurial and innovative activities of industrial companies. Despite a series of fundamental reforms in recent decades, France continues to operate one of the most complex and burdensome tax regimes for businesses. The focus is on taxes on production, which are a serious barrier to entrepreneurial activity of companies and pose a real threat to the competitiveness of the national economy. The author tried to show the originality of the mechanism of action of taxes on production in France. Special attention is paid to those that directly and negatively affect the productivity and competitiveness of companies. During the analysis, it was found that in the conditions of France, the tax burden has been and remains a key deterrent to the entrepreneurial and innovative activities of French companies.