As if history were repeating itself, an atypical campaign largely dominated by the international situation was coming to an end. Outgoing French President Emmanuel Macron will face national rally leader Marine Le Pen in the second round of voting scheduled for Sunday, April 24.
The political landscape has changed dramatically in the five years since they faced off in the second round of the 2017 presidential election. Today, Le Pen can look to an expanding constituency to provide her with a strong base to become the republic’s first female president.
As for Macron, despite launching a belated campaign in early March, he has attempted to play consecutive cards, highlighting his achievements in the war in Ukraine and managing the health crisis; the latter achievement is still under scrutiny.
Next, Al Jazeera looks at some of the most important topics, and positions on these events are the main areas of competition for the two candidates:
pension
Pension reform is likely to be one of the main topics discussed in the April 24 runoff, especially as the two candidates advocate two diametrically opposed positions in this regard.
On the one hand, Macron wants to gradually increase the retirement age from 62 to 65, stressing that the reform will take into account the time and conditions of each occupation, and he has also proposed raising the minimum pension to 1,100 euros per month.
On the other hand, the leaders of the National Assembly rejected raising the retirement age, suggesting that those who started working before the age of 20 should be allowed to retire at 60, based on the idea of ”encouraging young people to enter working life early”.
Le Pen has also pledged not to abolish pensions, to pass “small pensions”, and to reassess the minimum pension amount of no more than 1,000 euros a month.
immigration issues
Ambitious and grumpy heiress, the youngest daughter of Front National founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, entered the second round of the presidential election just like her father 15 years ago, still holding on to her polemic on immigration. Right-wing principles.
If elected president of the republic, Le Pen wants to end “family reunification” residency approvals, tighten up citizenship and only process asylum claims abroad.
She will also give French citizens priority access to social housing and jobs, and cancel residence permits for foreigners who stop working within 12 months, under the slogan of “national priority in the constitution”.
As for Macron, he intends to review the conditions for obtaining a residence permit of more than four years, as well as the requirements in the “French and Professional Integration Exam”. He will also ensure that asylum seekers are obliged to leave French territory directly if their application is rejected.
Macron and Le Pen agree on the issue of “systematic deportations” of illegal immigrants and foreign criminals who “disturb public order”.
Islam and the hijab
Le Pen, the National Coalition’s presidential candidate, sought to downplay her remarks about Islam or Muslims in her campaign, in which she claimed she was not attacking Islam but “depicting it as an authoritarian ideology” Islamism”. It’s a rhetorical distinction that struggles to stand up to detailed analysis of detail and contradicts itself, especially when it comes to wearing a headscarf.
In an interview with France’s “Information Channel” on Friday, Le Pen explained that the hijab is an “Islamic dress” and that she will ban it in public places and impose fines on women who wear it on the street. She said police would be “very good at enforcing this”.
In an interview with RTL channel on Thursday, Le Pen said that over the past 20 years, more than 85% of French people did not want women wearing hijabs or “clothes that express Islamic fundamentalism” in public places.
Macron, on the other hand, condemned Le Pen’s proposal, saying the measure “would divide the country” and he wanted women to take off their headscarves.
“The country is not against religion,” he said in a media interview on Saturday, adding that “if a far-right candidate bans the hijab, under our constitution, she will have to ban crosses and all other religious symbols.”
Macron, who is eligible for the second round of voting, called in his electoral platform for Muslims and Jews to unite against the far-right, saying, “I hope France will firmly oppose Islamic separatism, but secularism, which allows everyone to practice their religion.”
Purchasing Power and Taxes
Candidates have two weeks to try to convince the French of the importance of their electoral platform, an opportunity to review their main economic proposals, especially those related to purchasing power that voters care most about.
If re-elected, Macron expects 15 billion euros in tax relief, of which 8 billion will go to households and 7 billion to businesses, led by the repeal of audiovisual licensing fees (138 euros per year) and the reduction of inheritance taxes.
Macron also plans to double the “special purchasing power bonus”, which will triple the amount employers pay for their employees, ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 euros, which are tax-free, in addition to the company’s payment of the famous “Macron bonus”. ”, to distribute and share profits with employees.
In response, Le Pen promised to return 150 to 200 euros of purchasing power to France a month by reducing the value-added tax on energy products (fuel, gas and electricity) from 20% to 5.5%, a measure that will cost the French national coffers about 12 billion EUR.
Faced with inflation, right-wing candidates want to scrap the fuel tax hike set in place between 2015 and 2018 and introduce a value-added tax.
Her proposals include eliminating income tax for young people under 30 and encouraging companies to raise wages by 10 per cent.
Ukraine and the defense budget
The two candidates “almost” unanimously agreed to review the defence budget, and each presented an ambitious defence plan; foremost among them Macron’s plan to raise the defence budget to 50 billion euros by 2025, Le Pen, Macron The plan is to increase to 55 billion euros by 2027.
However, their stance on the Ukrainian war differs from that of France and Europe in general. The leaders of the National League supported Paris’ withdrawal from NATO’s integrated military command, arguing that “NATO’s anti-Russian obsession is not in the interests of the sovereign France”.
Macron, on the other hand, claimed that in the face of terrorism and cyber threats, “France is loyal to its alliance and member states can rely on it”. So there is no doubt that France will not leave NATO if he wins a second term.
About the future of Corsica
Faced with the violence that erupted in Corsica during the campaign, Macron decided to break the taboo and talk about it, paving the way for his historic demand for independence.
This was pointed out by Interior Minister Gérard Dalmanin, who said that if Macron was re-elected, there would be an “unprecedented debate” over the autonomy of Corsica.
As for Le Pen, she still categorically refused to make any concessions, saying: “Corsica must be French.”
Environment and Energy
Wind energy is widening the divide between the two candidates. Macron wants to build a renewable energy sector and create 50 offshore wind farms by 2050. Le Pen wants to stop funding “useless” wind and solar projects and dismantle existing wind turbines, both offshore and onshore.