Macron warned that in 2027 Le Pen could succeed him

2023-04-24 00:18:00

Despite popular rejection, Macron warned that he will go ahead with his reform. Photo: AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Sunday of far-right leader Marine Le Pen coming to power in 2027 if his government can’t figure out how to respond to the challenges, suggesting it should have been more involved in explaining its unpopular pension reform. to the citizens.

“Marine Le Pen will come to power if we don’t know how to respond to the country’s challenges and if we develop the habit of lying or denying reality,” Macron said. in an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien.

Le Pen appears as the main beneficiary of the whirlwind unleashed in France by Macron’s decision to increase the retirement age, which the president imposed by decree by failing to gather the necessary parliamentary support and the necessary years of contributions, which led to three months of protests and strikes.

Late March, Le Pen announced that she did not want to be France’s prime minister, but did not rule out the possibility of running for the country’s presidency for the fourth time in 2027.

According to an Elabe poll published in early April, if a French presidential election were held at this time, Le Pen would surpass Macron in the number of votes, the AFP and Sputnik agencies reported.

Le Pen is the main opposition candidate and benefits from the protests

Two-thirds of voters are against raising the retirement age from 62 to 64according to polls, and raise to 43 years of contributions to have a full pension.

The measure did not seem to have the approval of a majority of the deputies when the government decided to resort to article 49.3 of the Constitution to carry it out.

Since the beginning of the year, Macron has kept a low profile, leaving his prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, to deal with criticism of the reform.

“Perhaps the mistake was not being present enough to give substance to the reform and carry it out myself,” Macron added, specifying that he still has “confidence” in Borne.

After enacting the law earlier this month, Macron undertook a tour of France to reach out to citizens in the east and south of the country, where he was booed.

Angry protesters chased him and his ministers, staging pots and pans to express their discontent.