French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned that France would be plunged into a debt crisis if far-right leader Marine Le Pen wins the parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of the month and implements her economic program.
Le Maire told a meeting in his former constituency in northern France that policies such as reducing sales taxes and lowering the retirement age, which Le Pen’s National Rally party has supported in the past, would cost hundreds of billions of euros.
“A debt crisis in France is possible, a Liz Truss scenario is possible,” Le Maire said, referring to the former UK prime minister whose short tenure in office led to a sell-off in government bonds.
National Rally President Jordan Bardella said his party was close to winning a majority in the vote. The 28-year-old political leader said in an interview with France 2 television late Tuesday that he expected several dozen lawmakers from the conservative Republicans to join forces with the National Rally.
“There are many Republican voters who share the same values as National Rally voters on security and immigration issues,” Bardella said.
