Le Pen vows drastic cost savings to prevent French ‘default’

Marine Le Pen, the frontrunner in the French presidential race, pledged Tuesday to slash €140 billion in costs by 2032 to avert a potential debt default. The far-right candidate also sought to bring France's public deficit below the EU's 3% of GDP limit by 2030 and called on the European Central Bank to ease interest rates. Currently, France's deficit stands at 5.1% of GDP, with the government projecting an increase to 5.4% this year.

The party plans to borrow €340 billion in 2027, €28 billion more than the current year, to finance spending and repay debt. Le Pen criticized the governments of President Emmanuel Macron for failing to implement economic, financial, or budgetary policies that could prevent a looming debt crisis. She also accused the nation of lagging in productivity compared to the United States and lack of technological advancement.

Le Pen proposed implementing a budget golden rule through a referendum to obligate an annual debt reduction, but her plans may face challenges given the need to balance cost savings and retirement age reductions. Despite recent controversy surrounding her top ally's alleged antisemitic comments, Le Pen remains confident in her campaign, with recent polls indicating a strong likelihood of winning both the first and second rounds of the presidential elections in April.