Candidates representing a broad spectrum from the far left to the far right agreed in debates organized by the country’s employers’ confederation MEDEF that France is facing economic difficulties.
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However, at the Roland Garros complex in Paris, where battles of the best tennis stars rather than politicians more often take place, their opinions on how to solve the country’s problems differed radically.
Marine Le Pen, running for president for the fourth time and leading in the polls, emphasized that her far-right party, the National Rally (RN), will present a plan to reduce spending by 125 billion euros, and acknowledged that there is a “general consensus on the seriousness of the situation.”
However, far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called on business leaders to raise wages so that France “does not fall into recession,” and condemned the “tax breaks” applied under E. Macron’s government, which he said amount to the entire state deficit.
Centrist candidate Édouard Philippe, former prime minister under E. Macron, accused J.-L. Mélenchon of seeking to “burn” France’s debt and take actions that would “exclude France from the banking system.”
“Quite surprising”
The debates took place less than eight months before the 2027 elections, in which the new leader of France will be chosen, as the current centrist president E. Macron has already served the maximum two consecutive terms.
Given France’s two-round electoral system, there is growing concern that many candidates from the political center, center-left, center-right, and right could split moderate votes in the first round.
As a result, M. Le Pen and J.-L. Mélenchon, who, like his rival from the far-right camp, is seeking the presidency for the fourth time, could advance to the second round, leaving traditional parties aside.
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A new “Ifop-Fiducial” poll this week predicts that far-left leader J.-L. Mélenchon could reach the second round ahead of M. Le Pen, who confidently leads in first-round polls.
Two centrists, former E. Macron prime ministers É. Philippe and Gabriel Attal, are running active campaigns, and neither wants to give way to the other.
The campaign on the left was energized by former commentator turned Member of the European Parliament Raphaël Glucksmann, who plans to participate in the Socialist Party primaries in October to select the best candidate.
R. Glucksmann also participated in the debates alongside right-wing Republicans (LR) party representative Bruno Retailleau and Green leader Marine Tondelier.
Referring to G. Attal and É. Philippe, R. Glucksmann joked: “It’s actually quite surprising when two former prime ministers of Emmanuel Macron lecture about debt.”
A few days after E. Macron agreed with the Saudi Arabian crown prince on a $7 billion deal for amusement parks outside Paris, R. Glucksmann added: “I don’t want my country’s fate to be an amusement park for US magnates, Russian oligarchs, Chinese Communist Party leaders, or Gulf emirates.”
