French Businesses Court Marine Le Pen as Parliamentary Elections Approach

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

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

Why does this matter?

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

Le Pen's lieutenant is actively courting business leers 

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

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

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