Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential candidate of France, presented her economic program on Tuesday to save the country's economy from the debt crisis. In this program, she emphasized the need to reduce immigration, decrease France's contribution to the European Union, and cut bureaucracy.
Criticism of Emmanuel Macron
Le Pen strongly attacked what she called Emmanuel Macron's "disastrous record" in the economy at the beginning of her speech. In a press conference at her party's headquarters, National Rally, with the presence of Jordan Bardella, the party president, she criticized the government. Bardella also responded to accusations of sending anti-Semitic comments in his youth, accusing the media outlet that published the report of attempting to tarnish his character.
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Details of Le Pen's Economic Program
Le Pen, who is leading the race to succeed Macron next year, presented herself at this event as a responsible manager for France's economy. She promised to create a net saving of 140 billion euros during her five-year presidency. She stated, "If investors only lend at exorbitant rates, our government and social system will collapse."
Le Pen's proposal to cut 19.5 billion euros from France's contribution to the European Union is likely to lead to tensions with Brussels. Her party's anti-budget proposal for 2027 includes a reduction of 11.1 billion euros in France's gross contribution to the Union.
Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a member of parliament from the National Rally party, who is considered one of the candidates for the Minister of Economy if Le Pen wins the upcoming elections, stated that Le Pen and her party will increase pressure for a fundamental review of the European Union's priorities.
During previous election campaigns, Le Pen and the National Rally have faced criticism for presenting unrealistic and unfunded proposals. They have also been accused of exaggerating their savings in some proposals.
Le Pen announced that reducing immigration in the first year of her presidency would result in 15 billion euros in savings, which would reach 14 billion euros in the second year. She also mentioned that reorganizing France's social security system could bring 36.7 billion euros over five years.
She also referred to introducing a funding component in the pension system where workers' contributions are invested for their future retirement. This proposal has been put forward by a faction of the National Rally that leans more towards business interests.
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