Key facts
- Edouard Philippe's campaign is targeting Marine Le Pen's platform as "largely left-wing."
- Le Pen's ability to run for president was restored by a legal reprieve.
- Le Pen supports reversing the retirement age increase to 64.
- Philippe's party intends to highlight the "statist" nature of Le Pen's platform.
- Philippe has floated raising the retirement age beyond 64.
Edouard Philippe and his allies are recalibrating their strategy for the 2027 French presidential election, focusing on portraying far-right leader Marine Le Pen as fiscally irresponsible to win over center-right voters. Philippe's campaign believes Le Pen, who recently regained her eligibility to run after a legal reprieve, will be a tougher opponent than her protégé Jordan Bardella, but is confident in their ability to highlight perceived inconsistencies in her platform.
Nathalie Loiseau, a member of the European Parliament campaigning for Philippe, stated that Le Pen's platform is "largely left-wing." Critics have long accused Le Pen's National Rally party of economic incoherence, and Philippe himself has previously criticized them. However, with Le Pen now the official candidate, Philippe's team anticipates their attacks will be more effective.
Bardella, who had explored more pro-business, fiscally conservative policies, was seen as more palatable to conservative voters. Le Pen's return to the forefront means the party's platform will likely emphasize her vision of an interventionist welfare state. A key point of contention is retirement reform, with Le Pen supporting a return to the retirement age of 62, reversing President Macron's 2023 reform that gradually increases it to 64. Bardella had previously shown flexibility on this issue due to concerns about public finances, with debt projected to rise significantly.
Frédéric Valletoux, a pro-Philippe parliamentarian, noted that while Le Pen is more experienced, her platform has "no sense in quite a few respects." Philippe's party, Horizons, plans to target Le Pen on the "inconsistency and absurdity of a highly statist platform." Philippe, conversely, has suggested raising the retirement age even higher than Macron's reform, a stance that could appeal to voters Bardella was trying to attract. Gilles Boyer, Philippe's co-campaign director, believes that right-wing voters valuing free enterprise and fiscal prudence will be less inclined to vote for Le Pen than for Bardella, potentially favoring Philippe.