Nanterre - French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen played to deepening economic fears on Thursday, promising to leave the euro, pursue protectionist policies and accusing incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy of selling out to foreign ratings agencies.
Less than four months before the presidential election, Le Pen told reporters she was “the candidate of the nation”, pitted against establishment rivals who were wedded to globalisation.
Recent polls forecast centre-right candidate Sarkozy and Socialist Francois Hollande would eliminate Le Pen in the first round of voting on April 22, before a runoff on May 6. She has 15-20 percent share of voting intentions, around 5 points behind Sarkozy and 8 short of Hollande.
But Le Pen hopes to knock out one of the frontrunners by playing on the economic angst of France's increasingly eurosceptic population.
“They are insincere and conning the French,” Le Pen said of her opponents, speaking at the National Front headquarters just outside Paris. “I am, and I will be, the only candidate for protectionism and restoring our industrial base.”
With jobless claims at a near 12-year high and the trade deficit on course for a record in 2011, reviving industry has become a major theme for all candidates. Le Pen goes a step further, making an exit from the euro zone a cornerstone of her economic programme.
France can no longer be blinded by a Europe dominated by Brussels bureaucrats stuck in their “ultra-liberal” free trade ways, Le Pen said, adding that she would look to countries like Brazil and Argentina for her protectionist inspiration.
“France must take back the initiative, be dynamic, play on the international stage again and give itself the means of restoring its industrial base,” said Le Pen, daughter of party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen.
The former lawyer also rubbished Sarkozy's plan to ease the burden of social welfare contributions on companies by raising sales tax.
She said the president's plan to bolster competitiveness and prop up the flagging economy by raising the sales tax, only benefited employers and was simply more austerity in disguise.
“It is a deal with the ratings agencies and their clients, the financial markets: 'Leave me my AAA and I'll sacrifice my people',” she said.
Despite strong public support, Le Pen still needs to win the backing of 500 elected officials, such as mayors, before the end of February in order to run. Her father barely squeezed through in 2007, and Le Pen said she was some way from securing enough signatures.
Under current rules officials must declare who they sponsor.
Le Pen says the rules hinder democracy, as many would rather choose anonymously and as a result are boycotting the process.
“If I were not able to run in the presidential election, it's clear that we would no longer be in a democracy and that the president would be completely illegitimate,” she said.
“Can you believe a situation where someone with 0.5 percent of the vote is confident of getting through and yet someone hot on the heels of the president cannot?” - Reuters