Add to ORKGThe thesis revisits the debates on the socio-economic impacts of a carbon tax reform and the controversies over the choice of a scheme. A diagnosis is primarily based on a review of a French failure (the carbon tax of Nicolas Sarkozy, 2009-2010). It distinguishes between problems of political acceptability and limits of economic analysis to define the scheme. The importance of the discussion about the use made off the tax proceeds is stressed. This point is indeed behind the political problems and determines the economic and legal consistency of the project with regard to the objectives (environment, equity, competitiveness). It shows that existing analytical tools can be improved to enable social dialogue and support collective bargaining ...