Pensions, removal of VAT on basic necessities… Less than two weeks before the first round of early legislative elections, the boss of the RN, Jordan Bardella, is procrastinating on several emblematic measures of the far-right party.
What will remain of the promises of the National Rally (RN) if it comes to power? Campaigning for the early legislative elections scheduled for June 30 and July 7, the far-right party is beginning to unveil its program. The boss of the RN, Jordan Bardella, clarified the outlines in an interview with Parisian published Monday June 17.
The MEP has already announced that he will postpone certain key promises, such as the withdrawal of the pension reform or the abolition of VAT on basic necessities, two measures postponed until the fall, he explained on Tuesday on Europe 1/CNews. To justify this new timetable, he cites above all the situation of public accounts, which he believes is bad. Jordan Bardella is also referring any measure on salary increases to a social conference, which would take place in the fall. It also anticipates the constraints imposed by cohabitation. In the event of victory in the legislative elections, the RN would obtain Matignon, but without the control of the Elysée, which would force it to procrastinate on certain projects.
The repeal of the pension reform
What the RN said in 2022. In her 2022 presidential program, Marine Le Pen committed to “refuse any increase in the retirement age”. During the debates in the Assembly, his group therefore opposed the reform presented by Emmanuel Macron, finally promulgated in spring 2023.
What the RN says as part of the legislative campaign. The day after the dissolution and while the National Rally is campaigning on the possible nomination of Jordan Bardella to Matignon, the party is procrastinating on this issue. Perhaps because the president of the Republicans, Eric Ciotti, recent supporter of the RN, is not in favor of repealing the text pushing back the starting age to 64? Monday evening, the – contested – boss of LR estimated on 8 p.m. on France 2 that“he [n’était] not said that the pension reform would be repealed”referring to “room for maneuver which will be given” by an audit of public finances, announced Friday by Marine Le Pen, during a trip to Hénin-Beaumont (Pas-de-Calais).
After first referring this question to “later”, on June 11 on France 2, Jordan Bardella finally decided. In the columns of Parisianhe assures Monday that the pension reform will be repealed “from autumn”. On the other hand, he does not specify whether he intends to propose a new reform, to realize the promise of retirement from the age of 60 for those who began their career before the age of 20 (compared to 62 currently). .
The abolition of VAT on basic necessities
What the RN said in 2022. Candidate Marine Le Pen promised to eliminate VAT on a basket of around a hundred products. “first necessity”whether food or hygiene. “Salt, pepper, oil, bread, pasta…”she detailed, in April 2022, on BFMTV. “I remove VAT as long as inflation is one point higher than growth. I believe this is absolutely fundamental.”
What the RN says as part of the legislative campaign. Jordan Bardella wants to postpone this measure for purchasing power. “It will take place at the start of the school year, in the budget vote, in October, for the year 2025”, he declared Tuesday on Europe 1 and CNews. He justified this discrepancy by the financial situation of the country, “nearly bankrupt” according to him. “We arbitrate based on [de l’audit des comptes publics]and until then, priority on tax cuts, restoration of security and the fight against immigration”he explained. “There is time for emergencies. (…) And starting in the fall, I will engage with my majority in the time for reforms.”
On the other hand, he promises that his “first measure” as Prime Minister would be a reduction in VAT on energy and fuels, from 20% to 5.5%, a promise also appearing in the 2022 program.
The ban on the veil in public places
What the RN said in 2022. Marine Le Pen’s presidential program in 2022 proposed banning the Islamic headscarf in the streets and public places. “The ban on the veil is essential”, Marine Le Pen said on BFMTVa few months before the presidential election. “The veil has become a tool for Islamists. We have the desire to act on this issue”Jordan Bardella declared a few days later on TF1.
What the RN says as part of the legislative campaign. The boss of the RN is now more cautious on the subject. The MEP said in an interview with Parisian that the ban on the veil remained “an objective”while referring to a hypothetical victory for Marine Le Pen in the 2027 presidential election. “We will do now what we can do now, and we will do tomorrow at the head of state what we can do tomorrow.”, he told the daily. Indeed, such a ban could face legal obstacles, such as the requirement to amend the Constitution, which cannot be done without initiative from the president or three-fifths of Parliament.
The fight against immigration
What the RN said in 2022. This theme is one of the totems of the RN. Marine Le Pen promised to organize a referendum on immigration, to include in the Constitution the “national priority for employment and housing” and the abolition of land rights.
What the RN says as part of the legislative campaign. On its campaign leaflet, the RN aims to “stop the migratory submergence”, without detailing precisely how. Jordan Bardella said on Friday on BFMTV that as soon as he arrived in Matignon, he would table a bill to abolish land law.
On the other hand, it will not have all the tools to implement the corpus of the RN in matters of immigration. “The 2022 program is a program for a presidential election, that is to say with the prerogatives of a President of the Republic”justifies to franceinfo Renaud Labaye, secretary general of the RN group in the Assembly. “For example, our proposal for a referendum on immigration cannot be implemented until we have the Presidency of the Republic.” As for the desire to impose a “double border”hammered out during the European campaign, it would require renegotiating the European treaties.
The exit from NATO
What the RN said in 2022. In a programmatic booklet on Defense, resulting from the 2022 presidential campaign, the RN promised a “withdrawal of NATO’s integrated command“. After June 11, the document was removed from the list of thematic booklets highlighted on the party’s website, according to the media specializing in European issues Politico. The text, however always visible online (in PDF)advocated in particular “an alliance with Russia on certain substantive issues”.
What the RN says as part of the legislative campaign. Jordan Bardella had already distanced himself from this proposal during the European campaign. “If the war [en Ukraine] is still in progress, no. The program that we have always defended did not take the war into account.”he said to Politico on March 28. Responding to the withdrawal of the program booklet, the RN told the media that announcements would be made in the coming days.