About a year before the French presidential elections scheduled for April 2027, the far-right National Rally party is intensifying its movements towards economic operators, in an apparent attempt to break down the traditional barriers between the far right and employers. Among efforts to reassure markets and expand the electoral base, this rapprochement raises fundamental questions about the transformations of the political scene in France: Are we facing economic normalization with a party that was previously viewed as a threat to economic interests, or is it merely circumstantial pragmatism imposed by the new balance of power?

Published on: 04/22/2026 - 16:58

Although a full year still separates us from the date of the French presidential elections scheduled for April 2027, some political parties have actually begun to race against time, and are moving on the ground at an accelerated pace to spread their ideas and publicize their programs, with the aim of gaining time and convincing a larger number of French people, whether they are political or economic actors, to vote for the candidates of these parties.

This is precisely the strategy followed by the head of the far-right National Rally party, Jordan Bardella, who met on April 20 with members of the Executive Committee of the French Employers Association, or the so-called “MEDIF”, where he had lunch with them and explained in detail the economic program that his party intends to implement if it wins the presidential elections.

Some opposition political forces criticized this meeting, directly accusing French investors of sharing extremist right-wing ideas, in a move that reflects the extent of the tension surrounding this rapprochement.

But François Durfey, special advisor to Jordan Bardela, who could be the candidate of the National Rally party if the French judiciary issues a ruling preventing Marine Le Pen from participating in the electoral process due to the issue of embezzlement of European Parliament funds, responded to these criticisms, stressing that “it is completely normal for Al-Medif to dialogue with the first political force in France,” adding that Bardella’s meeting with employers is not “a test or a major oral presentation, but rather a normal dialogue.”

"The National Rally aspires to reassure businessmen"

It is worth noting that this meeting was preceded by a letter signed by the duo Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen to French employers, in which they called for their involvement in “identifying the legal and regulatory barriers and restrictions that hinder economic development in France, and how to find ways to remove them,” in a clear indication of the party’s desire to involve economic actors in formulating its vision.

The two officials also confirmed in the same letter that “their goal is to prepare a large project to simplify laws and legislation at the beginning of the new presidential term to liberate the French economy from these financially costly restrictions, and to keep pace with the recovery of production,” which reflects a pragmatic approach that seeks to gain the confidence of the markets.

Read also: Le Pen and Orban criticize European immigration policies during a far-right gathering in France

Behind this meeting, and other meetings organized in the past, the National Rally Party aspires to “reassure the economic circles about the credibility of its program,” according to Jean-François Soubizet, an independent economic analyst and expert who specializes in general economic policies and the field of communication.

According to Soubise, “The National Rally, through its approach to employers, is trying to attract social groups that are financially and economically affluent, wealthy groups that do not necessarily have political ideas close to it, and do not vote for it in the first place.”

He continued: "Marine Le Pen's party wants to kill two birds with one stone: expanding its electoral base on the one hand, and relying on this group to run the country's institutions if it wins the presidential elections on the other hand."

“There is no ideological link between employers and the National Rally Party.”

But Jordan Bardella's advisor, François Durfey, added in a statement to France Info that the National Rally has been meeting with employers for a long time, and that the lunch he recently had with them "is not a new thing," in a clear attempt to remove the exceptional nature of the meeting.

To prevent interpretations related to this meeting, the French Employers Association (MEDIF) announced that its executive committee will receive all parties represented in the French Parliament, to listen to their proposals and explain the economic policy that each party intends to implement if it wins the 2027 presidential elections, within the framework of a balanced approach.

During a press conference held in Paris on April 15, MEDIF President Patrick Martin was also keen to deny the existence of “any ideological link or desire to support the far-right candidate in the presidential elections.”

In this regard, he said: “I want to burst the bubble that says that employers have sided with the National Rally.” He added: “I tell you clearly: this is not true,” in a position that reflects the organization’s keenness to maintain a political distance.

But at the same time, he wondered: “Can the National Rally be excluded from the circle of our political communications? Of course not, because it is a party that has great weight in Parliament,” pointing out the difference in the current political situation compared to the era of Laurence Parisot (former head of the Mediv Association), where “the possibility of the National Rally coming to power was weak.”

“It is not the employers who choose the candidate who takes power in 2027.”

This is precisely what Emmanuel Dupuy, head of the Center for Foresight and Security in Europe, believes, as he confirmed to France 24 that “it is not the first time that far-right officials have met with employers. Marine Le Pen, for example, has previously met with major French investors, such as the president of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, or Vincent Bolloré.”

He added: "Bardella's meeting with the Executive Committee of the MEDIF Association is not exceptional as some want to describe it. Rather, it comes within the framework of a series of meetings and lunches organized by this association with representatives of political parties in France," calling for not "to give these meetings greater than their true size."

On the other hand, Dupuis stressed that “Jordan Bardella is not only trying to get closer to employers, but also to high-ranking officials in the public service, diplomats, and senior military personnel, to bring the views of these officials closer to the ideas of the National Rally,” in a move that reflects a broader expansion strategy.

In a question: Are French employers ready today to support the National Rally, as it is the first political force in France? Emmanuel Dubuis answered, saying: “Employers and investors are not the ones who choose the candidate who will come to power in 2027, but in return they seek to impose their solutions, economic visions, and agendas on every person who has a chance of reaching power.”

"Marin's Blue Trap"

He continued: "It must be taken into account that there is no single, unified association of investors and employers, but rather multiple associations, each of which has its own political orientation. For example, there are many employers who refused to participate in lunch with Jordan Bardella to show their hostility to the ideas of the extreme right."

He concluded: “The Employers Association (MEDEF) wants to indirectly put pressure on the upcoming elections by imposing its ideas and economic bets that it believes are important.”

Moreover, although the Employers' Association did not publicly declare its support for the ideas of the extreme right, the tone is very different from that which prevailed in 2011 during the era of Laurence Parisot, whose hostility to the National Front party reached the point of writing a book under the title "The Blue Marine Trap", in which she called against voting for the National Rally as a "threat to France."

Read also: France: Party tensions before the presidential elections?

Vanson Geiser, a specialist in political sociology and professor at the University of Marseille, believes that employers have always believed that the rise of the extreme right to power poses a threat to their economic interests.

He told France 24: "Even if some employers supported the extreme right on a personal level or shared some values ​​with it, they were convinced that this party did not serve their interests in the long run and had a negative impact on them, as the party, for example, was against importing foreign workers."

“The National Rally also changed its rhetoric towards employers.”

He added: "Historically, there is a natural rapprochement between French employers and the extremist National Rally party, and even with some right-wing governments (François Fillon's government during the Sarkozy era, for example) and ministers from the right-wing movement."

In a question: Do you think that employers will support the National Rally in the upcoming presidential elections? Vanson Gesser answered, saying: “The political scene has changed in France. The National Rally represents the largest political force, which may push some employers to approach it for strategic and pragmatic reasons, and to preserve their personal and economic interests.”

He concluded: “The National Rally also changed its rhetoric towards employers, and began courting them and offering them strong guarantees to the effect that it would not oppose their economic interests, but on the contrary, would support them, whether at the regional or national level.”

In an article published in the French newspaper Le Monde at the beginning of April, businessman Pascal Demurgue, who is close to Laurence Parisot, who is hostile to the far-right, regretted granting meetings between employers and the far-right “additional legitimacy.”

He wrote: “Many (meaning the major French investors) do this out of the motive of limiting damage or, more pragmatically, by some, to secure their interests, but this constitutes a tactical error and a political illusion.”

Bernard Cohen Haddad, a businessman and president of Maeve, a company specializing in the insurance sector, responded to him: “We are no longer in the time of Parisian ‘salon’ eliminations, but rather in the time of field calculations and bets.”

Different economic trends between Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella

While he added in a statement to France Info: “The employers’ view of the National Rally’s policy has changed because the party itself changed its economic proposals,” referring to measures such as reducing production taxes and reducing social burdens on companies.

Many economic analysts agree that there is a difference in economic outlook between Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella.

The former still adheres to a kind of social orientation in economic policy, always taking into account the problems of the French, especially those who live in the popular neighborhoods and who largely vote for the National Rally, and the view of Jordan Bardella, which is purely liberal and strongly supportive of employers.

Between one trend and another, the question remains: Will employers support the National Rally in the 2027 elections or will they remain neutral?

Taher Hani

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