The French far right’s weak spot: economic incoherence

PARIS — When it comes to the economy, France’s far-right National Rally party has an identity crisis — and its adversaries see an opportunity to go on the attack.

The contradictory messaging over how to handle France Inc. is being starkly exposed through its two potential candidates for next year’s presidential election, which the party is on track to win.

If you listen to the slick Jordan Bardella, the far right appears to be appealing to big business, free market liberals and the white-collar vote. But populist Marine Le Pen, in contrast, is playing to a more traditional blue-collar electorate and sticking to her belief in an interventionist big state.

While Bardella has enjoyed success courting the titans of industry — especially those executives belonging to CAC40, the index of France’s largest listed companies — Le Pen’s more recent attempts at engagement with business have been rockier.

Politicians from rival parties are wasting no time in seeking to score points from the ideological schism at the heart of the nationalist, anti-immigration National Rally.

“There’s the new generation National Rally that’s courting CAC40 executives, companies and business leaders … and the old guard that is pro-spending, pro-nanny state,” Édouard Philippe, the conservative main challenger to the far right, said this month. “You can count on me to condemn their posturing and U-turns.”

Éric Zemmour, leader of the far-right Reconquest party, accused Bardella of going to “great lengths” to make it look as if the National Rally were right-wing while the party hierarchy — most notably Le Pen — had leftist economic instincts and wanted to hike taxes.

Noting the divisions between Bardella and Le Pen, members of the far-left France Unbowed party said their presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon believed the National Rally needed to “settle” on its true economic agenda.

It is possible the National Rally will be able to chart a more coherent course on the economy — and key questions such as deficit reduction and pension reform — after a landmark court ruling on July 7 that will determine whether Le Pen or Bardella will be the official presidential candidate in 2027.

But the party’s disagreements on economic strategy run deep, and there is no guarantee they can be resolved quickly.

A former French government official, who has regular conversations with National Rally party members, said: “There’s a very clear ideological battle in the party.”

“The old chieftains take a dim view of Bardella’s rise,” said the former official who was granted anonymity, like others quoted here, because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

Marine Le Pen speaks to the press during a ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of Victory in Europe Day in northern France, on May 8, 2026. | François Lo Presti/AFP via Getty Images

Even Le Pen herself admits that she and Bardella are not perfectly aligned — with the economy and business seeming to be the prime example.

“I’m neither right-wing nor left-wing,” she told the RTL radio station earlier this month.

When asked whether Bardella was more right-wing than her, she answered: “Yes, but when you are neither right nor left-wing, you can welcome people from the right and from the left.”

A party divided

Le Pen and Bardella have long tried to project unity, but in recent weeks that consensus has appeared to fray.

This month, the party’s two leading figures appeared at odds on one of the most explosive election topics: the legal age of retirement in France. The National Rally has historically pledged to reverse President Emmanuel Macron’s flagship pensions reform and lower the legal age of retirement to 62.

But Bardella sparked controversy when he said the party was “examining” the issue — comments that were swiftly contradicted by Le Pen, who reaffirmed her support for returning the retirement age to 62.

The same tensions also surfaced over a proposed windfall tax on energy companies benefiting from higher oil prices linked to the war in the Middle East. Le Pen backed the idea, while Bardella said it was “not a priority.”

Party insiders have tried to frame those differences as a division of labor.

“They each have their role to be able to appeal more widely,” said a National Rally official. As the party’s presidential candidate, Le Pen “is above party differences,” while Bardella is “more right-wing.”

But according to a former National Rally official, the party is racked by “strong tensions” between the old order backing Le Pen, and the more free-market circle that gravitates towards Bardella.

Sensing the controversy growing in the public debate, Le Pen on Friday tried to dispel any doubts about her entente with Bardella. “I believe we have the same economic vision, we defended the same political manifesto in 2022 and 2024,” she told BFM TV channel.

Courting the business elite

The tensions are in full display in the courtship of the business establishment, however.

Jordan Bardella taking part in a vote during a plennary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on May 20, 2026. | Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images

That role has largely fallen to Bardella, but Le Pen is now getting in on the act. Last month she attended a much discussed dinner with some of France’s top executives, among them the country’s richest man, Bernard Arnault.

But many still need convincing.

According to a senior executive from one of the firms represented at the dinner, Le Pen adopted “a pro-business” tone before quickly reverting to her “state-led, interventionist” discourse. Another top business executive briefed on the encounter said her posture had been “dogmatic.”

French utility giant Engie’s chief executive, Catherine MacGregor, was another of the dinner’s attendees. She lambasted the far-right National Rally’s energy platform as being “bad for France.”

Meanwhile, Amir Reza-Tofighi, head of the employers’ lobby CPME, told POLITICO that the party needed a more concrete agenda.

“It’s simple to say we want to embrace pro-business policies, but we want to see what’s written in black and white” in the party’s political manifesto, he said.

He added that reversing Macron’s pension reform would “disqualify” the National Rally economically.

“It would mean lying to the French about a major issue, on whether we are capable of balancing our public finances.”

Le Pen’s dilemma

The core question is how far Le Pen can push the transformation of what was once a fringe populist party into an economically credible governing force.

The far right needs to increase “its share of older voters” if it wants to win the 2027 election, said OpinionWay pollster Bruno Jeanbart.

“Older voters, who generally have a lot of savings, are afraid,” said Jeanbart, adding their fears focused on the far right’s ability to “run the economy” and concern that a National Rally win could “lead to France leaving the eurozone or the EU.”

Le Pen, however, is not fully embracing the transformation to fiscal sobriety and does not want to give up the party’s traditional lavish campaign promises.

“She’s an obstacle on this topic” said the former French official. “Being strong on social issues is her political heritage and it has proved successful in elections.”

According to one veteran National Rally lawmaker, there are “tensions” with Bardella’s new economic advisor François Durvye, a free-market financier seen as driving the party’s rightward economic shift.

The former National Rally official quoted above said: “By pushing the party too far to the right, they risk losing their working-class base.”

The mixed messaging is likely to persist for a while, as the party tries to broaden its appeal without alienating its traditional base.

“It’s a populist party,” said a former top executive, who has regular conversations with National Rally officials. “The aspirations of the people matter.”

“They can’t say ‘We’re going to win the election with an economic program that’s the polar opposite of what voters expect.'” 

Nicolas Camut and Sofiane Zaizoune contributed reporting.