Marine Le Pen is attempting to win over France’s business leaders during a key first presidential debate, focusing on promises to stabilize public finances.
Debate Focused on Debt and Spending
Organized by the main business lobby MEDEF, the event began with the far-right leader and her rivals shaking hands, but quickly turned tense. Candidates traded accusations over dangerous proposals regarding debt and pensions.
Le Pen pledged to put public finances back on track if she wins power. When asked how she would fix France’s ailing finances, she said the government must drastically cut its spending. In contrast, the hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon said he would “chuck” some of the country’s debt in the fire, a stance Le Pen explicitly rejected by stressing she would repay it.
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Since the pandemic, successive French governments have struggled to control the budget, leaving the nation with one of the highest fiscal deficits in the euro zone. Public debt now stands at 117% of national output. While the hard-left candidate suggested scrapping all subsidies to businesses as a way to slash the deficit, the centre-right former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe argued this was a dangerous idea. Philippe suggested that French people would need to work longer to resolve the fiscal issues.
The debate also included the Greens leader Marine Tondelier and the conservative leader Bruno Retailleau. Raphael Glucksmann, a centre-left candidate, drew applause for attacking Le Pen’s immigration plans, arguing that cutting immigration would not fix France’s finances.
Investors Await Clarity
Thursday’s gathering is viewed as a significant test for Le Pen before company chiefs who have long been skeptical of her economic credentials. She said the details of her economic programme would be unveiled in the coming weeks.
Market reaction to the debate was immediate. Blue-chip French stocks hit a one-month low earlier in the day as investors fretted about the upcoming budget and political risks ahead of the 2027 election.
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An opinion poll carried out by OpinionWay for MEDEF ahead of the debate indicated that 82% of business owners are pessimistic about the impact of the next president’s policies on the economy, regardless of who wins. France faces a difficult annual budget battle in the coming months as parties jockey for position. The Prime Minister’s minority government is due to set its 2027 deficit target in the coming weeks and must submit a bill to parliament by October 6.
Current opinion polls consistently predict that the anti-immigration and eurosceptic Le Pen will win the first round of the election next April by a large margin. While some polls suggest Melenchon might be her rival in the run-off, others have pointed to the centre-right former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe going to the second round.
Le Pen is betting that a clear fiscal plan will convince the business community to look past her traditional far-right base. However, the market’s immediate reaction suggests that investors remain cautious about the stability of the French economy under a potential Le Pen administration. The upcoming budget details will be critical in determining whether this skepticism softens or persists.
