There is a deadline today in France. It was set by Marine Le Pen last week for Michel Barnier. Show me you’re serious about respecting me and my party, she told the prime minister, or I will bring down your government.
The ultimatum, ostensibly at least, concerns Barnier’s budget for 2025, and the ‘red lines’ that Le Pen demands must not be crossed if she’s to desist from supporting the left’s vote of no confidence.
The sanctimonious hypocrisy of the French elite never ceases to amaze
There have already been concessions of Barnier’s part, notably his withdrawal last week of a tax on electricity and a promise to reduce state medical aid. Le Pen wants a drastic reduction in this aid, an essential cause for the left, but which her party says is a major pull for migrants.
In fact, Le Pen has been pushed into this confrontation with Barnier by the majority of her 11 million voters, and also a growing number of her 125 MPs.
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