Marine Le Pen moved to put public finances at the centre of her campaign on Tuesday, promising €140 billion in cost savings by 2032 if elected next year. The far-right National Rally leader said France needed a break from present policies to avoid a debt crisis.
“If the French do not choose a political break, France is heading towards default,” Le Pen said.
Her intervention followed accusations of antisemitic comments against her top ally, Jordan Bardella, which he has denied. Le Pen made the fiscal announcement in a bid to regain momentum after the controversy.
France’s deficit was 5.1 percent of GDP last year, above the EU’s 3 percent limit for member states. The government forecasts that it will reach 5.4 percent this year.
Le Pen said she would bring the public deficit below the EU threshold by 2030. She also reaffirmed a proposal for a budget “golden rule”, to be put to a referendum, requiring debt to fall each year.
The pressure on the public finances is also visible in the debt market. French government bond yields have soared in recent weeks, while France plans to borrow €340 billion in 2027, around €28 billion more than this year.
Le Pen said pension changes would account for 15-20 billion euros of savings, through changes to measures she called “inefficient and unfair” in the existing system. She also wants to lower the retirement age to 62, or even 60.
She blamed successive governments led by President Emmanuel Macron for failing to stop interest payments from strangling France. Le Pen urged the European Central Bank to “ease the burden” of interest rates.
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