Mélenchon said that if elected, France would “disobey” EU rules on trade and economic policy. He also doubled down on his calls to rewrite the treaties that underpin the bloc.
The famously Euroskeptic Le Pen, who previously wanted France to leave the EU, said as president she would slash Paris’ contribution to Brussels by €5 billion.
Le Pen’s economic plan takes shape
A burning question heading into the campaign season has been the extent to which Le Pen and her far-right party, the National Rally, would tweak its populist economic platform to broaden its appeal to a wider base of right-leaning voters.
The party was expected to pursue more business-friendly policies when it appeared that Le Pen would be barred from running due to her embezzlement conviction and would be forced to hand the reins to her 30-year-old protégé, Jordan Bardella. But a July court ruling unexpectedly cleared a path for her to stand in the contest, throwing the party’s economic platform into doubt.
Shortly before the debate started, French daily Le Figaro reported that investor François Durvye, who had been brought in by Le Pen’s second-in-command Jordan Bardella as an economic adviser, would not be taking part in the campaign, signaling a shift away from the pro-business line pushed by Bardella.
At the debate, Le Pen hewed toward her long-standing policies — which have been criticized as unrealistic — while also including some offerings that would please the business community.