The leader of the French far-right Marine Le Pen, who will run for president in next year's elections, presented her vision for the recovery of France's public finances for the period 2027-2032, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
Le Pen said that if elected head of state, her government would make net savings of 140 billion euros and cut taxes by 30 billion euros.
She has sharply criticized the way French public finances have been managed since 2012, blaming socialist and centrist governments for this. Le Pen said that under her leadership, the state deficit could be reduced to below 3% of GDP by 2030, and the state debt reduced to 112% of GDP.
“If the French do not choose to break with the political past, France is heading for bankruptcy“, said Le Pen, who is in first place according to polls on voter attitudes before the presidential election.
When presenting her financial plans, she was accompanied by the deputy of the “National Assembly“ Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a specialist in budgetary issues, as well as by the party chairman Jordan Bardella. Bardella recently found himself embroiled in a scandal over anti-Semitic messages that he allegedly sent years ago, at the beginning of his political activity.
Le Pen also repeated her proposal to hold a referendum through which the so-called “golden budget rule“. According to her, the goal is for France's national debt to decrease every year. Under such a rule, the state could take on new debt mainly for investment, but not to finance its current expenses.
Regarding the pension system, Le Pen said she supports returning the retirement age to 62 instead of the current 64. The current age was introduced with the unpopular pension reform pushed through by President Emmanuel Macron. Le Pen even raised the issue of restoring the retirement age to 60.
“In the coming weeks, we will present you with measures to correct unfair or inefficient measures in the current pension system, promising long-term savings of between 15 and 20 billion euros“, she said.
The presidential candidate promised another “major reform“, aimed at creating a funded pension system that would operate in parallel with the current model. Under the current system in France, pensions are paid through workers' contributions, not through their financial investments.
Le Pen also recalled her intention to reduce France's financial contribution to the European Union. She called on the European Central Bank to intervene to "relieve the burden of interest rates."
“The ECB must intervene so that eurozone countries have greater financial freedom to invest in our sovereignty, namely in defense and in catching up with technological progress,“ Marine Le Pen argued.