French presidential candidates spend three hours defending economic plans to business leaders
Seven candidates for France's presidency faced three hours of questioning from business leaders at the Medef employers' organization event in Paris, covering pensions, debt and inheritance tax. The debate focused mainly on economics but also touched on climate policy.
Seven candidates in France's presidential race appeared before the country's main employers' organization, Medef, in Paris on Thursday, August 27, for a three-hour question session led by five business executives. Gabriel Attal, Raphaël Glucksmann, Marine Le Pen, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Edouard Philippe, Bruno Retailleau and Marine Tondelier all took part.
Marine Le Pen restated her plan to lower the legal retirement age to between 60 and 62, depending on when a worker entered the labor market, acknowledging the measure could cost around €9 billion a year. She said an alternative budget proposal featuring €125 billion in spending cuts, touching areas including the European Union and immigration, would be unveiled before October's budget debates.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the left-wing France Insoumise party continued to press his proposal to cancel the portion of French debt held by the European Central Bank, comparing it to a similar move by the United States. He warned of a possible recession if wages are not raised, and rejected both a proposed social VAT and funded pension schemes.
Gabriel Attal of the Renaissance party pointed to his record as former prime minister, pledging to bring the public deficit below 3% of GDP by 2032, and criticized Le Pen for having voted against several previous economic reforms. Bruno Retailleau of the Republicans blamed excessive bureaucracy for hampering businesses and pledged to scrap numerous regulations, while Edouard Philippe revived his proposal to cut €50 billion in production taxes in exchange for an equivalent reduction in state aid to companies.
Raphaël Glucksmann defended a plan to tax large inheritances to fund a cut in social security contributions, a proposal Retailleau opposed, instead proposing to raise the tax-exemption threshold for gifts. Marine Tondelier of the Greens was among the few candidates to raise climate change, linking it to economic activity following a historically hot summer.
Audience reactions suggested Le Pen, despite leading in polls, received a cool reception, while Mélenchon appeared to win over parts of the crowd.
