France: taxing second homes

Following on from the last word of the previous entry 
[In order to protect local residents from the inflated prices, the Affordable Rural Housing Commission had also called for further restrictions on the right to buy in protected areas and a new tax on second homes.
Futures Forum: National Park for East Devon and Dorset: next stage pt 2], 
the French government has upset a few 'non-residents' by proposing a tax on second homes:

The price of property in some beautiful rural areas – such as Creuse and Périgord in the south west or Morvan in northern Burgundy – has fallen by up to half in the last five years.

Even luxurious villas by the sea on the Mediterranean or Atlantic coasts are going relatively cheaply, according to a survey by French property lawyers. They speak of an “unprecedented crisis” in the sale of second homes in France, provoked, partly by the global economic slowdown  and partly by a change in the French law on capital gains tax and residential taxes.

An Englishman's home is his chateau: Potential bargains for Brits as bottom falls out of French second home market - Europe - World - The Independent

But the tax on second homes is in fact something the previous French government introduced, now two years ago:
Sarkozy's plan to tax holiday homes alarms 'les rosbifs' - Europe - World - The Independent
.
.
.