France's far-right says Fillon's programme harsh, and will not get people's support

Record ID: 77361

  • Title: France's far-right says Fillon's programme harsh, and will not get people's support
  • Date: 27th November 2016
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (NOVEMBER 25, 2016) (REUTERS) PHILIPPOT PREPARING TO LEAVE INTERVIEW
  • Embargoed: 12th December 2016 23:49
  • Keywords: Front National Philippot Le Pen right-wing Fillon primary France election
  • Location: PARIS AND FREJUS, FRANCE
  • City: PARIS AND FREJUS, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA0045A7YZPJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Francois Fillon's wide-reaching plans to slash public spending and overhaul the French economy would not get the backing of French people, a top official of the far-right National Front said, welcoming him as an opponent because of their sharp differences on that issue.
    Fillon on Sunday (November 27) became the centre-right's nominee for next year's presidential election after winning a primary vote. He wants to slash public spending, raise the retirement age, scrap the 35-hour working week, and cut back social security.
    Under the leadership of Marine Le Pen, who took over from her father Jean-Marie in 2011, the National Front has switched from an economically liberal, pro-small business party to one that promises to lower the retirement age and guarantee France's generous welfare safety net.
    "He has a programme -- which he completely takes responsibility for, which perhaps does him credit -- that is so sharply different from ours, and is a programme that is very harsh, and cannot bring together a majority of French people," the National Front's Florian Philippot told Reuters.
    Philippot compared Fillon's manifesto to the austerity measures prescribed by the European troika for Greece during its debt crisis.
    "You look at what was recommended in the last few years in Greece, in southern Europe, it's the same thing -- massive cuts in public sector jobs, the retirement age pushed past 65 years old, abolishing the prescribed number of work hours, privatisation of certain public health services -- it's absolutely this programme," Philippot said.
    Opinion polls have for months forecast that the centre-right candidate and Le Pen would qualify for the second round of the presidential election in May and that Le Pen would then lose.
    But polls, which had until just days before his victory failed to forecast Fillon's comeback, are taken with an increasingly big pinch of salt.
    Fillon plans to slash public spending by 100 billion euros over five years, scrap a tax on the wealthy and push the retirement age to 65 as well as increase VAT sales tax.
    "Fillon thinks as if it's 30 years ago. He speaks of Thatcher, well, Thatcher was in the early 80s," Philippot said of the candidate who has expressed admiration for former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
    Philippot said Fillon, who was prime minister between 2007-2012, talked tough on migration but would not act tough once in power.
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