Marine Le Pen vows €140bn cuts, warns of default

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said on Tuesday, October 6, that she would make 140 billion euros, or $157 billion, in cost savings by 2032 if elected next year, warning that France was “heading towards default” without a political change.

Le Pen also said she would bring France's public deficit below the European Union limit of three percent of GDP by 2030 and urged the European Central Bank to ease the burden of interest rates.

France's deficit was 5.1 percent of GDP last year. The government now forecasts it will reach 5.4 percent this year, rather than falling as previously planned. It plans to borrow 340 billion euros in 2027 to finance spending and repay debt coming due.

Opponents criticised Le Pen's proposals. Economy Minister Roland Lescure said a Le Pen budget would be “all pipe dreams and free handouts”. Centre-right rival Edouard Philippe said she had “a real problem with numbers” and called her plan “spectacular irresponsibility”.

Le Pen remains the current frontrunner in the presidential race. Her campaign has recently faced pressure after investigative website Mediapart accused her ally Jordan Bardella of making antisemitic comments in Facebook messages in 2013, which he has denied.