The president of the National Gathering Marine Le Pen tackles the compromise found between the government and the reformist unions on the pension bill.
This Monday, we seem to see the beginning of a way out of the crisis with transport that works better. This is good news for the French, isn't it?
MARINE LE PEN. What interests me is the reform itself. It is deeply negative, the French are victims of a real manipulation on the form: to propose something inadmissible to withdraw it and to pass all the rest which is just as inadmissible. I was the only one to say very quickly that this pivotal age only existed because it was intended to jump.
If it is a maneuver, would the reformist unions who accept it be the accomplices?
Of course ! They are the useful idiots of macronism. They will have to answer to their base which is probably not fooled. The question remains: this pension reform is a budgetary reform. It aims to obtain a reduction in pensions, capture reserves and lower contributions for the employer-state. Everything is completely opaque. Mr. Delevoye said it, they are unable to set up individual simulators before the law is passed. Have you ever seen a law in your life that you are asked to vote without knowing the consequences it will have on the French? It is unheard !
Do you think the strike should therefore continue?
The strike was not committed by political parties but by unions. Each has its place. But that the unions - who have the means to strike at their disposal - use it, that doesn't shock me, even if I am perfectly aware of the inconvenience it represents for millions of French people. But these millions of French continue to support the majority of the protest. It is the government that I hold exclusively responsible for the current disorders.
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What fate would you reserve for special diets?
I have always considered that there should be a convergence between the general regime and the special regimes, but over a very long time. This is what was chosen at SNCF. I am not one of those who think that if the economy of France is on the ground, it is because of the railway workers. Neither of those who, on the right, explain to us that they are hyperprivileged. Besides, I would like to know how many of these great LR executives have sent their children to train railway workers if it is so advantageous that that… The most reasonable thing would be for these companies to have collective agreements, whether there is a real debate between the State-shareholder, the management and the unions. This would include everything: arduousness, working time, retirement, holidays…
Emmanuel Macron spoke of using the referendum on the climate question. You are no doubt delighted…
I am always for referendums. But the real question I ask myself is why it opens the possibility of a referendum on the climate and not on pensions. The best way out of the pension crisis would be to hold a referendum. If there is one subject that concerns all French people, it is pensions.
And not the climate?
Of course yes. Still, the debate must be long enough for the truth to emerge. There is such a spate of fake news on the subject: 80% of French people think that nuclear emits CO2! One of the great debates to have is: for or against nuclear power? ( Editor's note: it is for ). Will that be part of the questions? We need real subjects in this referendum and not questions where everyone will answer "yes", like do we need cleaner air? Should biodiversity be preserved?
During your municipal convention on Sunday, you sent a message to Les Républicains voters. Is it a reservoir of strategic voice?
The challenge for us is our ability to widen our electorate in the second round of the presidential election, and exceed 50%. We have three possible reservoirs: those disappointed on the left - voters of rebellious France are ready to vote for me - those disappointed with LR who find that their party has become Macron's satellite. LR becomes a float of the macronist majority, as the PS is its left float. And finally, the immense mass of abstainers who had broken away from politics. They may have come back thanks to the Yellow Vests crisis, realizing that voting is more effective than just contesting.
According to Le Figaro, Minister Julien Denormandie, Minister of Territorial Cohesion, will embark on an “anti-RN tour” during the municipal elections. What do you say to him?
The government attempts a rehearsal comic. They are remaking us from the Europeans. However, it didn't work out for them. If they go on a tour to find candidates, it would save them from having to buy players from the Republicans.
What do you think of the unprecedented situation in Biarritz, where two government ministers will clash?
This government is odds and ends, macronism is a movement of odds and ends. It is not certain that he will survive Emmanuel Macron.
Nicolas Sarkozy is sent back to correctional in October for corruption. You have often said that justice was political. Is this also the case?
I do not know, but I see that all the opposition goes to the turnstile and that it is not a coincidence. What I see is that an exceptional court has been created with the National Financial Prosecutor's Office, a creation by Ms. Taubira in which she has put people close to her.
After the accidental destruction of the Ukrainian Boeing, Iran is experiencing a new wave of protests. Can the regime switch?
All regimes can collapse when they are totalitarian. It is not impossible that Donald Trump analyzed this situation before making the choice he made.
Are you in favor of keeping French soldiers in Mali?
Yes, I am for their maintenance. Then, the governments of the region, particularly Mali, must tell us what they want. They cannot request the maintenance of the French presence, and at the same time support anti-French demonstrations. This is what Emmanuel Macron did, and he was right. His requirement for clarification is good, but I find him timid in his requests for support from the European Union. There is no reason why, humanly and financially, we should assume the total burden of what constitutes a military commitment to protect the whole of Europe.