On Tuesday, France’s far-right National Rally (RN) leader, Jordan Bardella, implored voters to equip his party with an outright majority in the forthcoming parliamentary elections to enable effective governance. An unexpected decision by French president Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament earlier this month has afforded Bardella’s eurosceptic, anti-immigration party a genuine opportunity for national leadership in the June 30th and July 7th polls. RN consistently tops opinion polls, however, forecasters of tricky second-round results in France’s 577 constituencies do not anticipate it clinching the outright majority required to pass legislation unhindered by allies.
Bardella stressed to CNews TV about not misleading the French about reforms that he may not be able to implement. He emphasises the need for an outright majority to be able to act. This sentiment was echoed during his conversation with Le Parisien newspaper, where he urged voters to support him and Marine Le Pen, RN’s previous leader and their candidate for France’s next presidential election in 2027. He implied that if RN fell short of the 289 seat target with their closest allies, they might reject any proposal to form a government.
In his talks with Le Parisien, he confirmed expensive plans to quickly reduce VAT on petrol, heating fuel, electricity, and gas from 20 per cent to 5.5 per cent, positioning it as his initial act as prime minister. In the absence of an outright majority, the feasibility of implementing these reforms and drastically curbing immigration would be compromised, Bardella told Le Parisien. His party’s pledges have been somewhat subdued due to investor apprehensions regarding their potential impact on public finances, added Bardella, saying that an RN government wouldn’t instantaneously slash VAT on a list of 100 crucial goods.
In terms of their financial strategies, the RN has not yet unveiled any specific plans, however, Mr Bardella mentioned that terminating certain tax reliefs could fund a portion of these initiatives. Notably, he expressed his intentions to revoke a tax concession provided to shipping companies which burdens the national exchequer with a hefty €5 billion. – Reuters
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