Le Pen woos business chiefs at first French presidential debate

Marine Le Pen used her first major presidential debate to court France's business elite, promising to rein in public spending if she wins next year's election. The event, organised by the MEDEF business lobby, brought together leading candidates for a discussion that began cordially but quickly turned combative.

Le Pen, who leads in opinion polls for the first round of voting in April, said the government must "drastically cut" its expenditure to fix the country's finances. Her remarks stood in contrast to hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who has suggested burning part of France's debt, while Le Pen insisted she would repay it.

France's public finances have deteriorated sharply since the pandemic, leaving the country with one of the euro zone's highest deficits and debt at 117% of national output. The debate came as blue-chip French stocks hit a one-month low, with investors nervous about the upcoming budget and political uncertainty ahead of the election.

Mélenchon proposed scrapping all business subsidies to reduce the deficit, a plan that drew sharp criticism from centre-right former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, who argued instead that the French would need to work longer to restore balance. Centre-left candidate Raphaël Glucksmann also drew applause when he challenged Le Pen's immigration proposals, saying cutting immigration would not solve the country's fiscal problems.

A poll by OpinionWay for MEDEF showed 82% of business owners are pessimistic about the economic impact of the next president, regardless of who wins. The government, led by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, must set its 2027 deficit target in the coming weeks and submit a budget bill to parliament by October 6.

Other participants included Greens leader Marine Tondelier and conservative Bruno Retailleau. Le Pen said the full details of her economic programme would be released in the coming weeks.