Who will be the next president of France? - Economy dominates first televised debate between 7 candidates
The seven main candidates running in the French presidential election faced off in their first debate, with the economy, public debt and pension reform dominating heated discussions. The debate, organised by France's main business lobby, MEDEF, began with Marine Le Pen, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon and other candidates smiling and shaking hands, but the situation quickly turned more tense, with the candidates accusing each other of dangerous proposals on debt and pensions.
Less than eight months before the presidential election, the economy dominated the debate at Roland-Garros, home of the French Open. Without tennis rackets in hand, the candidates tried to win the support of business leaders present in the hall while resolutely defending their political platforms and projects.
The seven candidates included two former prime ministers of French President Emmanuel Macron, centrist Gabriel Attal and center-right figure Edouard Philippe. Since the pandemic, successive French governments have struggled to get public finances under control, leaving the country with one of the highest fiscal deficits in the eurozone and a record debt of 117% of national output.
Opinion polls predict that Marine Le Pen, an outspoken anti-immigration and Eurosceptic, will win the first round of next April's election by a wide margin and will also be in a good position to win the run-off in May. Polls also suggest that Melenchon could be her rival in the run-off, while former center-right prime minister Edouard Philippe is also a possibility.
The candidates presented starkly different plans for France’s relationship with Europe. Mélenchon boldly declared that he planned to accept nothing coming from Europe that was against the interests of the French people. Le Pen, meanwhile, told business leaders that spending must be cut at the state level, as well as at the European Union level, pledging to reduce France’s contribution to the bloc to around 5 billion euros, from around 29 billion euros by 2026.
The candidates also debated the hotly debated issue of pension reform. Massive protests across the country and a political backlash against French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 forced the National Assembly to vote in favor of suspending the pension reform until January 2028.
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