French far-right leader promises to clean up public finances

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The head of the French far-right, Jordan Bardella, has promised to maintain “reasonable” spending plans if voters give him a parliamentary majority that would propel him to become prime minister.

With nervous markets Due to political uncertainty in the eurozone’s second-largest economy, Rassemblement National party officials have confirmed that they intend to bring France’s deficit back to 3 percent of gross domestic product by 2027, which is the level set by EU rules. .

“We intend to bring the country back to reasonable budgets,” Bardella said at a press conference on Monday, where he described RN’s program on the economy, foreign policy and migration.

He said he intended to repair the country’s “degraded public finances”, which he blamed on the administration of President Emmanuel Macron.

The EU recently placed France in a so-called excessive deficit procedure after Paris surpassed its target last year of reaching 5.5 percent. Some credit rating agencies demoted the country’s debt.

Macron’s handling of the economy has become an issue for his centrist alliance ahead of the early elections he called earlier this month, after the RN won the most votes for the European Parliament.

Bardela, who is RN leader Marine Le Pen’s right-hand man, said he would act prudently if he became prime minister, carrying out an audit of public finances before deciding what measures to take in the autumn in preparing the 2025 budget.

He rejected the idea that in recent days he had diluted the party’s economic plans, which were last presented before the 2022 presidential elections. At that time, the Institut Montaigne estimated that they would cost around 100 billion euros and included the reduction of retirement age, the elimination of income tax for those under 30 and the reduction of value added tax on energy, gasoline and essential household goods.

Some policies for 2022, however, have been suspended, namely plans to reduce VAT on household goods.

Bardella said his party has already identified measures to offset the budget deficit created by the reduction in VAT on fuel and energy: raising 1.2 billion euros to fill a tax gap in maritime shipping companies, reducing France’s contribution to the EU budget by €2 billion. and tax windfall profits from energy companies to raise €3 billion.

The RN would also revoke “in principle” Macron’s historic pension reform adopted last year, which raises the retirement age from 62 to 64, Bardella said.

In promises that resembled those of Macron, he mentioned measures to strengthen the French industrial base, increase employment and reduce bureaucracy. “We need to make France a producing country again,” said Bardella.

RN’s economic discourse comes at a time when an Ipsos survey showed that RN and your allies ahead with around 35 percent of voting intentions in the first round of Sunday’s elections for the National Assembly. A new left-wing alliance known as the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) is in second place in the polls, with around 30 percent, followed by Macron’s centrist alliance, with just under 20 percent. The second round will take place on July 7th.

However, Bardella repeated that he would not accept becoming Prime Minister unless voters gave the RN an absolute majority of at least 289 seats in the 577-member assembly.

A suspended parliament is the most likely outcome of the vote, polls show, with the RN and its allies just short of obtaining a majority.

Macron responded to RN in a podcast interview, arguing that his program on migration and crime would target “people because of their religion or origin and, as a result, divide the country and lead to civil war”.

However, Bardella’s efforts to demonstrate economic acumen appear to be paying off with the public, despite the RN remaining short on details and having little experience in governance.

An Ipsos survey for the Financial Times, conducted June 19-20, found that 25 percent of respondents had more confidence in the RN to make the right decisions on economic issues.

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The poll revealed 22 percent support for the left-wing NFP on the economy and just 20 percent for Macron’s alliance.

Bardella also sought to ensure that an RN government would not be soft on Russia, despite Le Pen having previously grown closer to Vladimir Putin and RN relying on a Russian bank for a campaign loan. He has since been refunded.

“I see Russia as a multidimensional threat to both France and Europe,” Bardella said.

Regarding aid to Ukraine, Bardella signaled that it would have “red lines” that differ from Macron’s current approach. He ruled out sending French troops to Ukraine and providing long-range missiles or other military equipment capable of hitting targets in Russia.

Video: Why the far right is emerging in Europe | FT Film

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