It seems like the French government is trying to collect money that is normally donated by civil society, probably to create a positive image for its people.
I think the problem lies not in the amount of money collected to fund AIDS-related projects, but the core lies in the massive trend towards liberalization of the healthcare market and increase in numbers of profit-seeking investors in the pharmaceutical industry, which make the necessary medicine more expensive, for many too expensive.
This whole liberalization trend hasn't brought the successes it promised, and because of failure to reset the whole process, the French government raises its taxes to save face. Raising taxes reduces consumption, which in turn worsens the economy. Who are they fooling?