No reason to fear us, Le Pen tells business leaders ahead of presidential debate

Business leaders have no reason to worry about ​the National Rally's policy plans, French ​far-right leader Marine Le Pen said ‌on ​Thursday, ahead of a first, early presidential debate. Blue-chip French stocks hit a one-month low earlier in the day as investors fretted about ‌the upcoming budget and political risks, ahead of next year's election. "Entrepreneurs who have taken the time to examine the National Rally's proposals have no reason to be alarmed by the measures we are ‌proposing," Le Pen said as she arrived for the debate at the annual meeting ‌of MEDEF, a federation of French business leaders. Opinion polls consistently predict the anti-immigration, eurosceptic Le Pen will win the first round of the election in April by a large margin, but also being well placed to win the run-off ⁠in ​May.

The latest polls indicate ⁠that far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon might be her rival in the run-off. Others have pointed to center-right former Prime ⁠Minister Edouard Philippe going to the second round. Meanwhile, France faces a particularly perilous annual budget battle in the ​coming months as political parties jockey for position ahead of the presidential election while anxious investors ⁠look for evidence Paris can regain control of its public finances. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's minority government is due to ⁠set ​its 2027 deficit target in the coming weeks and must submit a bill to parliament by October 6.

An opinion poll carried out by OpinionWay for MEDEF shows 82% of business ⁠owners are pessimistic about the impact of the next president's policies on the economy — whoever ⁠that president may be. Melenchon, Philippe, ⁠another former centrist Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and center-left candidate Raphael Glucksmann are among those who will also take part in the debate.