Off the top of my head... in France, you pay tax as a household rather than an individual. So if you are married with children you get a tax cut for each child up to 3.

Private pension contributions are also tax deductible and don't actually have to be used for retirement (you can use it to fund a first house for example)

Other things that you can take off your tax bill include alimony payments, charitable donations and investments made in certain French initiatives.

So yes, there are many ways to legally reduce your tax bill quite significantly here.

And to add, Randomly out of my mind :

- Owning a flat and rent it to a thrid party. Many fees on it are deductible.

- Investing in medium/small-sized companies.

- Making property/housing more energy efficient.

- Invest in accommodations for disabled/elderly/etc.

- Fees for the studies of your kids.

- Support/Invest in art / creative related enterprise.

- And many other that need to be checked.

That is not exceptional. Many European countries have similar taxes credit schemes.