French Businesses Court Marine Le Pen as Parliamentary Elections Approach

France’s corporate leaders are increasingly aligning themselves with Marine Le Pen’s ‘far-right’ Rassemblement National (RN) as the country heads into snap parliamentary elections. The shift comes in response to concerns over the radical tax-and-spend agenda proposed by the leftwing alliance, which polls indicate is a strong contender against Le Pen.

According to four senior executives and bankers who spoke with the Financial Times, the left’s policies are perceived as more detrimental to business than the RN’s unfunded tax cuts and anti-immigration stance. “The RN’s economic policies are more of a blank slate that business thinks they can help push in the right direction,” said a leader from a Cac 40 corporation. “The left is not likely to water down its hardline anti-capitalist agenda.”

Why does this matter?

The shift in business support marks a significant change in the political landscape. “If you had told me two weeks ago that the business world would be rooting for the RN and counting [President Emmanuel] Macron out, I would not have believed it,” remarked another major business leader and investor in France. Macron, before entering the political arena, worked for the Rothschild Bank. 

Le Pen's lieutenant is actively courting business leaders 

Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s lieutenant and the expected prime minister if the RN secures an outright majority in the parliamentary elections, has been actively courting business leaders in recent months. Investment bankers in Paris and corporate executives have disclosed that Bardella has held several closed-door meetings to garner support from the business community.

As the two-round vote on June 30 and July 7 approaches, the business community’s growing engagement with Le Pen underscores a pragmatic approach to navigating France’s volatile political environment. With the left’s stringent anti-capitalist policies posing a significant threat, many corporate leaders see an opportunity to influence RN’s economic direction in a way that could be more favorable to their interests.

This alignment with the ‘far right’, driven by economic pragmatism, highlights the complex and often unpredictable nature of political alliances in France’s rapidly evolving electoral landscape.