THE PEN. The second round of the presidential election promises to be tight between Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron. Edouard Philippe believes that the RN candidate “can win” and fears this scenario as she continues her field campaign with voters.
13:13 – Does Marine Le Pen want to reinstate the death penalty?
Marine Le Pen and the National Rally are “opposed to the death penalty and in favor of the establishment of real life imprisonment”, declared Jordan Bardella this morning on RTL. A return to the abolition of the death penalty is not on the program a priori, but the interim president of the National Rally indicates that the subject could be the subject of a new vote, in particular 500,000 people express the wish via a popular or citizens’ initiative referendum.
12:45 – Neither Le Pen nor Macron convinces the CGT on pensions
The secretary general of the CGT, Philippe Martinez was the guest of France 2 this morning and he let it be known that none of the candidates presented a satisfactory reform on pensions. On Marine Le Pen’s proposal, it is not so much the retirement age that is criticized but the idea of abolishing social security contributions financing the pension system. The trade unionist accuses the candidate of wanting to “break Social Security” and judges that it is a “proposal of the Medef and Marine Le Pen agrees with the Medef”. Note that the position of the CGT is clear on pensions: it is campaigning for “a return to retirement at 60”.
12:26 – Marine Le Pen warns against the “wall of inflation”
From Gennevilliers, Marine Le Pen alerts voters to the “wall of inflation” which is emerging and which will affect “individuals and small businesses”. The candidate hopes to be the choice of VSEs and SMEs and highlights their difficulties before defending her proposals to help them and above all to lower Emmanuel Macron’s measures. “VSEs and SMEs are the identity of France, but are in an extremely complicated position with the increase in the prices of energy and raw materials”, she indicates first of all with reference to the consequences of the war in Ukraine before continuing on the limit of loans guaranteed by the State: “Companies have concluded loans guaranteed by the State which will have to be reimbursed after the presidential election. Many companies will not be able to reimburse these loans. These problems will get worse.” In response, she announces that she wants “an extension or postponement of these loans without bank sanction”.
12:08 – 5.5% or 0% VAT? Precision on the measurements of Marine Le Pen
In turn, Marine Le Pen evokes the reduction of VAT to 5.5% and the total abolition of the tax on certain products, what does she really plan in her program? The two measures are indeed in the project of the candidate of the National Rally but they concern different products. The reduction in VAT to 5.5% instead of 20% would be applied to the price of energy, namely electricity, gas, fuel oil and fuel, while the abolition of VAT, or a VAT at 0%, would concern basic necessities on which VAT is currently fixed at the minimum level of 5.5%. Jordan Bardella promises that 0% VAT will be applied to a hundred products “such as rice, pasta or hygiene products”.
11:50 – The RN wants to “transform the European Union from the inside”
After having defended the Frexit in 2017, the nationalist Marine Le Pen is tackled on her ambitions concerning the future of France in Europe. The RN candidate, however, assures that the idea of bringing France out of the European Union is no longer relevant and no longer appears in her program, instead she wishes to “transform [l’Europe] of the interior”. Jordan Bardella tried to redefine Marine Le Pen’s project on RTL and indicated that if the candidate is elected she will go to Brussels to “renegotiate a certain number of sovereignties, such as obtaining control of our borders or the possibility of making economic patriotism”. In her program, Marine Le Pen nevertheless speaks of “creating an alliance of European nations” and wishes to touch the amount of the contribution to Europe. On this last point, Jordan Bardella explains: ” The sums that we pay to the European Union are considerable [alors] we will lower the contribution from 9 billion to 5 billion and we will return to the average contribution of the other EU countries”.
11:34 – The referendum, proof of respect for the French people according to Bardella
Marine Le Pen promises in her program to have recourse to the referendum in particular on the subject of immigration and this from the start of her mandate. Jordan Bardella assured RTL this morning that this first referendum “will aim to consult the French on a policy that has been imposed on them for 40 years”. By evoking the use of a referendum, Marine Le Pen boasts of giving the floor back to the French. “We are respectful of the French people, unlike Emmanuel Macron,” added Jordan Bardella, adding that “it is time to elect a president who loves the French, who respects them, because we have been imposing on the French for too long. French policies they do not want”.
11:21 – On professions of faith, the RN denounces a “political maneuver”
Relatives of Marine Le Pen see in the remark of the Control Commission a “political maneuver”. One of them admits to France Inter to be annoyed but far from being worried: “Our sources are sure, we have already transmitted them several times to the commission. Moreover, these figures already appeared on the profession of faith of the 1st round. The only objective of all this is to make us lose precious time.” The authority expected such accusations and assures “[demander] regular details of this type. This was the case for several candidates before the first round.”
11:13 – Marine Le Pen pinned down by the Campaign Control Commission
As soon as it was published, Marine Le Pen’s profession of faith was pinned down by the Electoral Campaign Control Commission according to information from France Inter. These are two figures used as an argument to criticize the balance sheet of Emmanuel Macron who challenged the body. The document points to “+31% of intentional attacks since 2017” and “1.5 million additional immigrants who have entered France legally since 2017”, figures whose source is none other than the Ministry of Interior according to the campaign team. Problem, the ministry does not recognize the data and the Commission says it cannot corroborate the elements. Professions of faith may therefore not be recognized or approved.
10:55 – “Marine Le Pen can win”, the fears of Edouard Philippe
“This second round is not over,” said Edouard Philippe on France Inter this morning. The mayor of Le Havre and supporter of Emmanuel Macron remarks that “the election is still very open […] I think that Marine Le Pen can win and that we have to play this election seriously”. By this he means that Emmanuel Macron must play the rally before the second round and not be satisfied with a Republican barrage against Marine Le Pen. “We must therefore campaign to make the candidacy of the President of the Republic prevail and prevent France from giving itself to Madame Le Pen. Which would be something very problematic and quite dangerous. […] France will live less well if Madame Le Pen is elected”, warns the former Prime Minister against the far-right candidate.
10:46 – The mayor of Gennevilliers unhappy with the arrival of the RN candidate
Marine Le Pen’s visit to Gennevilliers is not to Mayor Patrice Leclerc’s liking. On social networks, the city councilor assures that “Madame Le Pen is not welcome in Gennevilliers, she knows it by choosing the cement factories in the Port and not the urban area of the city”. He goes so far as to establish a comparison with the father of the candidate and former leader of the National Front, Jean-Marie Le Pen: “It reminds us of his father’s ties with the cement workers”. The RN candidate was not well placed in the results of the presidential election in Gennevilliers points out the mayor who anticipates and advances that “it will be the same in the 2nd round”.
10:39 am – Marine Le Pen interviewed on BFMTV at 6:30 pm
Marine Le Pen will be Bruce Toussaint’s guest tonight at 6:30 p.m. on BFMTV. The National Rally candidate will take part in the show two days after her second-round rival in the presidential election, Emmanuel Macron.
10:33 – “Emmanuel Macron’s France is a France that stops”
Marine Le Pen prides herself on going to meet “France who works” this morning from a company in Gennevilliers and takes down Emmanuel Macron on his policy for small and medium-sized businesses. “As we speak businesses are closing and tomorrow I fear things will get worse. [car] many companies will not be able to repay the loans guaranteed by the State”, she believes. And to add: “The France of Emmanuel Macron, it is a France which stops”.
10:25 – What will be the program for the first year of the five-year term if Marine Le Pen is elected?
In addition to a new campaign poster and a new profession of faith, the candidate of the National Rally has published the provisional chronology of her first year of five-year term if she is elected to the Elysée. In the top three of the first measures to be taken, Marine Le Pen is betting on the “shock of purchasing power” with the reduction or abolition of VAT on basic necessities, then a visit to Brussels to “initiate Europe free nations” and the organization of a referendum on immigration, a promise hammered home by the candidate throughout her campaign.
???? Purchasing power shock, referendum to stop immigration, Europe, financial wealth tax: find the first decisions I will make once elected president ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/p51gdNeV4v
– Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) April 12, 2022
10:10 – Foreign policy at the heart of Marine Le Pen’s press conference
After her visit to the Hauts-de-Seine, Marine Le Pen will give a press conference in Paris from 2.30 p.m. Foreign policy and diplomacy are on the program for the speech of the candidate of the National Rally and the themes are strategic at a time when the war in Ukraine is raging and relations with the Russian head of state are conflictual. Especially since Marine Le Pen is regularly accused of being (too) close to Vladimir Putin, if she condemned the acts of war of the President of the Russian Federation she showed some reluctance on certain economic sanctions taken against Moscow. For clarification, she explained that she was against sanctions, the consequences of which could affect France, but approved of all the others.
10:02 – Surprise visit by Marine Le Pen to Genneviliers
The trip was not announced in her official diary but it was all smiles as Marine Le Pen arrived in Gennevilliers this morning. The candidate visits a company that manufactures recycled concrete, but we can think that it is more to get closer and convince left-wing voters, in particular Jean-Luc Mélenchon, than to talk about construction than the deputy for Pas-de-Calais traveled to the communist-leaning town of Hauts-de-Seine.
Welcome to the Gennevilliers d’Écovalo site, which notably manufactures recycled concrete. The construction industry is an essential sector of our economy, it is important to support all the economic actors concerned. pic.twitter.com/Mbb4PHxoNM
– Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) April 13, 2022
It will therefore be a new Macron – Le Pen duel in the second round of the presidential election. This confrontation was quite expected and has already been the subject of numerous polls during the campaign. Each time, Emmanuel Macron will have been given the winner of the election, but with a gap that narrowed considerably in the final days before the ballot. Marine Le Pen is given only 1 to 2 points behind, it is very clearly within the margin of error of the pollsters. As a reminder, during the last presidential election, Marine Le Pen was largely beaten in the second round with 33.90% of the vote against 66.10% for Emmanuel Macron.