FACTBOX-Far-right Le Pen cloaks nationalist policies with social veneer

Opinion polls point to the far-right's Marine Le Pen as the main challenger to President Emmanuel Macron's re-election, in a repeat of the 2017 match. Le Pen has shifted her campaign focus to purchasing power, the number one priority for French voters, without shedding far-right policies from her election programme. Here are her main policy proposals https://mlafrance.fr/programme: ECONOMY * No income tax for those aged under 30 * VAT on energy at 5.5% from current 20%.

Opinion polls point to the far-right's Marine Le Pen as the main challenger to President Emmanuel Macron's re-election, in a repeat of the 2017 match.

Le Pen has shifted her campaign focus to purchasing power, the number one priority for French voters, without shedding far-right policies from her election programme. Here are her main policy proposals https://mlafrance.fr/programme:

ECONOMY * No income tax for those aged under 30 * VAT on energy at 5.5% from current 20%. VAT at 0% for essential products such as pasta and diapers as long as inflation is one point higher than growth. * No employer contributions on pay rises of up to 10% * Early retirement at 60 for those who have worked 40 years. Increase low pensions * Scrap inheritance tax for middle and low income families. No tax on donations of up to 100,000 euros per child or grandchild every ten years IMMIGRATION * Only French citizens will have access to welfare benefits * French nationals will be given preference in access to social housing and to jobs * Stop family reunification * Systematically deport undocumented migrants, foreigners convicted of crimes * Withdraw residency for migrants that are out of work for more than a year * Remove birthright citizenship * Asylum requests to be processed outside of France SECURITY * Re-establish mandatory sentencing and remove the possibility of reduced sentences * Establish presumption of legitimate defense for security forces

ISLAM * Strip French citizenship for people with extreme Islamist views * Close mosques and Islamic associations that contradict French constitutional values * Ban the hijab and religious symbols in all public spaces and for parents on school trips EUROPE/INTERNATIONAL * Withdraw France from NATO's military command structures * For the French constitution to prevail over international law * Create a "European Alliance of Nations" intended to progressively replace the European Union * End Franco-German cooperation agreements established since 2017

ENERGY * Stop wind turbine projects and dismantle existing ones * Leave the European electricity market * Invest in nuclear energy