Marine Le Pen promises ‘trial of strength’ with EU if elected French president

Marine Le Pen is the frontrunner to win the French presidential election next year

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Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader in France, has vowed to engage in a “trial of strength” with the EU over its finances if she is elected as president next year.

The 58-year-old has defined much of her political career against the European bloc, which is now working to push through a seven-year budget before the French presidential elections. Speaking to the Financial Times from her Paris office, Le Pen described the move as “deeply objectionable”.

“In fact, I think it reveals the contempt the Commission has for democratic processes in Europe,” she said, although accepted that her promise to cut France’s contribution to the EU budget would be difficult. “We know there will be a tough debate, even a trial of strength. But we have the will and the conviction that we will be able to do it.”

Brussels wants a deal by Christmas, but France and Germany are in dispute over the long-term budget amid proposals for deep cuts.

The EU Commission has proposed a budget for 2028-2034 that is worth nearly €2 trillion, well beyond the roughly €1.2 trillion budget during the 2021-2027 period.

Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden want to cut several hundred billion euros from the budget, but France has hit out at these calls, with Macron declaring that the bloc needs an “ambitious” budget.

The negotiations come ahead of a busy election year, with French polling currently forecasting a run-off between French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and hard-left rival Jean-Luc Melenchon, an indication of the growing polarisation as Macron's era ends.

Le Pen, who in recent weeks has been polling around 33 to 37 per cent, promised pragmatism with the economy, admitting that her main constraint if elected would be the “gigantic, enormous debt... that could become uncontrollable”.

“Politics is in reality a question of conviction confronted by constraints,” she said. “I have no intention of losing my convictions.”

Next year will be an “extraordinary event” as elections also take place in Spain, Italy and Poland, Le Pen said, expressing hope that it could signal a radical new era for the continent.