France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen is planning a showdown with the EU over the bloc’s budget and powers if she wins next year’s presidential election.
Among other things, she wants to weaken the European Commission and questions whether its President Ursula von der Leyen should remain in office until 2029. This is according to an interview with the Financial Times.
Le Pen has presented a 140 billion euro plan to reduce France’s budget deficit through spending cuts and tax cuts. The plan also includes reducing the country’s EU contribution by 1 billion euros in 2027 and by a further tens of billions of euros in the following years. However, such a change requires the approval of the other member states.
France’s public debt amounts to 119 percent of GDP. Economists have criticized Le Pen’s budget plan as unrealistic and warned that the rapid cuts could hit growth hard. Le Pen dismisses the criticism and argues that tax cuts and deregulation will stimulate the economy.
