The first to be questioned as part of the grand oral on savings organized by Afer, David Lisnard estimated that the current pension system had “become a Ponzi pyramid” because of “the collapse in births”. “The demographic revolution changes everything, we have to reinvent a system,” added the president of the New Energy party and mayor of Cannes, saying he was in favor of the introduction of a “compulsory” capitalization system. According to the ex-LR, a capitalized pension would make it possible “to finance the French economy”, while “we lack capital” today and “there will be considerable competition for capital”.
“We must free up savings,” said David Lisnard, saying in particular that he wanted to “liberate stock savings plans” (PEA). «Elle doit être stable, on doit avoir une visibilité dans la durée», a ajouté le président de l’Association des maires de France (AMF). “Today, the effectiveness of the State and national solidarity depend on a global reform which must not involve an increase in compulsory contributions. Arrêtons d’imposer l’impôt sur l’impôt, ça ne marche pas», a-t-il développé.
The French Savings and Retirement Association (Afer) is organizing a presidential “grand oral” this Tuesday afternoon, on the theme of “the future of life insurance and French savings in the perspective of the next five-year term”.
If all the candidates have been invited, six will speak, one after the other: Jérôme Guedj, Gabriel Attal, Édouard Philippe, Bruno Retailleau, David Lisnard and Xavier Bertrand. Si Marine Le Pen était annoncée au programme, elle sera finalement représentée par l’un de ses proches. Three major themes will be addressed: inheritance and taxation, pensions and capitalization, and savings in the face of public debt.
The boss of the Ecologists Marine Tondelier demanded that Jordan Bardella resign “from all his functions”, and the Insoumis Manuel Bompard judged that he could “no longer play a major role in French political life”.
“In this story, there is going to be a death. But which one? Either Mediapart said the truth, and in this case, I don't see how Jordan Bardella (...) could continue a political career (...), or all this is a vast 'barbouzerie', as he says, and in this case, Mediapart took a very big risk, "said Julien Aubert, vice-president of LR, on Radio J.
The Paris prosecutor's office told AFP on Tuesday that it had opened an investigation for violation of professional secrecy into leaks to the press surrounding the preparation of the 2027 budget, after receiving a report from the Prime Minister.
On September 7, Sébastien Lecornu announced, in an unusual manner, that he would take legal action after the publication of information in Les Echos according to which the government was considering making part of the profit-sharing bonuses, participation or contributions from employers to savings plans subject to contributions.
The report noted that “two articles referring to provisional and confidential working documents relating to the development of the next finance law for the year 2027” had been published, recalled the prosecution, requested by AFP.
À lire aussi Budget 2027 : le parquet ouvre une enquête après le signalement de Sébastien Lecornu sur des fuites dans la presse
ll est temps pour Édouard Philippe de se défaire des étiquettes qui lui collent à la peau. He does not like to be presented as an “80 km/h man”, the speed limit on secondary roads that he put in place in 2018 from Matignon. Nor does he like the term “67-year-old man” regarding his pensions project. “On social networks, the attacks against him are “macronism”, “80km/h” and “retirement at 67””, regrets François Goulard, the treasurer of his party, Horizons.
This Tuesday, the candidate for the presidential election, architect of the 2020 reform, abandoned after the Covid-19 epidemic, clarified his plan: a gradual increase (“in less than ten years”) of the contribution period (raised to 45 years) and the retirement age (raised to 65 years). He has set himself the objective of “regaining the balance of our pay-as-you-go system”, by defending a reform “responsible for all and fair for each”, he explains in an educational tone, in a video posted on YouTube.
Also read Presidential Election 2027: 67 years and 80 km/h, the two cursed numbers that Édouard Philippe wants to get rid of
Speaking in turn before the RN deputies and senators gathered at the National Assembly, Marine Le Pen gave her support to Jordan Bardella after the revelations by Mediapart on anti-Semitic writings attributed to him.
“Jordan said it, he and I put on our Kevlar suits because there’s some heavy stuff going down there. I admit that the handling is as light as a charcuterie conference,” she said. The leader of the RN assured that her party did not intend to “let it go”. “Not only will we counter-attack, and of course take legal action, but we will dismantle this manipulation and we will know who is behind this manipulation,” she said.
Marine Le Pen also praised the attitude of Jordan Bardella, who “undertakes this attack with great calm and great dignity”, according to her. Finally, she strongly questioned Mediapart, which she describes as “a self-confessed far-left activist media”, believing that this affair will “demonstrate the true nature” of the information site. Marine Le Pen also expressed her “absolute confidence” in Jordan Bardella, to the applause of the audience.
“But know that we are going to take a hit, that the system will do everything and our adversaries will do absolutely everything, including the most disgusting things possible, to be able to try to hinder this dynamic,” she also declared.
The day after Mediapart's revelations on anti-Semitic writings attributed to him, Jordan Bardella spoke this Tuesday in front of RN deputies and senators gathered at the National Assembly. The party president once again “formally” contested having made these comments and announced that he wanted to lead “a legal battle”.
“We are going to have to take out the heavy helmets, because the campaign will be long, because we are going to be attacked,” he warned his group. Jordan Bardella believes that the RN is now facing “the beginnings of a total war” and “attempts to destabilize the presidential campaign” which could, according to him, target party officials “one by one”. Returning directly to the Mediapart investigation, he described the accusations as “fallacious”. “These words and these positions have never been mine,” he assured, claiming to have been, during his political career, “laid bare” and “scrutinized” without such elements having so far been brought to light.
The president of the RN also argued that this affair would “most certainly have been prepared for several months”, in the event that he were a candidate in the presidential election. “Either Mediapart implemented a swindle operation, or a swindler operation was set up outside and Mediapart itself got smoked,” he accused.
Jordan Bardella also claims to have requested, in particular through his lawyer, to consult the documents on which the investigation is based and assures that Mediapart refused to transmit them to him. “We are going to fight, I am going to fight on the legal ground,” he insisted, believing that the RN was now faced with “a soap opera”. He finally strongly attacked the investigative site, which he described as a “far-left newspaper, made up of fanatics” who would use, according to him, “all means, including the most unfair”, to prevent the RN from winning the presidential election. “They are in an all-out war,” he continued. He also claims that the accusations of anti-Semitism have the “objective” of “killing him politically”
Édouard Philippe comes out of the woodwork on pensions. This Tuesday, the candidate for the presidential election returned to his proposal to reform the pension system. He therefore wishes, in the event of victory, to “gradually increase the contribution period to 45 years and the starting age to 65 years”. A “responsible” and “fair” reform to avoid a “financial crisis”, he pleads.
“People who tell you: Let’s go back to retirement at 60, all that is wonderful, all that is great. These people who tell you this are charlatans,” denounces the candidate, in a video published on YouTube. This approach is not “a lasting solution”, he still judges. “We can clearly see that there are more and more retirees and less and less assets per retiree to finance pensions. This balance is weakening. […] But if we really want to, we must ensure the financing of our system, and that is where we are in difficulty,” explains Edouard Philippe.
The candidate, who refuses to use the “levers” of an increase in contributions, recourse to debt or a reduction in pensions, instead calls for “progressively working longer”. First, by “gradually increasing the contribution period to 45 years and the starting age to 65 for French people who can”. But “in the reform that I am proposing, one in three French people will be able to leave before the age of 65, between 60 and 64,” he adds. Likewise, “the retirement age of people in poor health will not change, it will remain at 55 years for people with disabilities, 60 years for people with permanent disabilities and 62 years for people with disabilities”.
Also read Pensions: Édouard Philippe proposes to “gradually increase the contribution period to 45 years and the starting age to 65”
Another major modification, the mayor of Le Havre intends to “complete our pay-as-you-go system with a capitalization component. […] I want it to become possible and obligatory for all employees, because thanks to this, all employees will be associated with the valorization of capital,” he explains. The effects of this change are not expected before “15 or 20 years”, and a retirement savings plan must be put in place for each French person, too. “The question of pensions is not a curse, it is a social subject before being a financial subject,” he then concludes.
Laurent Jacobelli defended Jordan Bardella after Mediapart's revelations on anti-Semitic writings attributed to him. “My conviction is unshakeable. Jordan Bardella has never made these remarks and I am deeply convinced of it,” assured the deputy for Moselle, affirming that the president of the RN is “really at the forefront of the fight against anti-Semitism”.
The RN spokesperson mainly focused his attacks on Mediapart, which he describes as a “far-left militant leaflet”. “We are witnessing the machine producing stink balls at the start of the campaign. We expected it, probably not so soon,” he said, denouncing a “militant operation”, a “campaign hijacking” and a “voter hold-up”.
“Justice will decide,” he added, while Jordan Bardella announced that he would take legal action against the information site.
Guest of France Inter this Tuesday morning, LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard said he had “a reaction of astonishment” after the revelations by Mediapart on anti-Semitic writings attributed to Jordan Bardella. “These comments are absolutely revolting. If they are accurate, and this is what the Mediapart newspaper claims, they demonstrate once again that anti-Semitism is the DNA of the French extreme right,” he declared.
“If these remarks are true, I believe that Jordan Bardella must draw absolutely all the consequences, and that he cannot play a major role in French political life,” continued the deputy for Bouches-du-Rhône.
“I think the French people must understand that it would be madness to entrust power to a political family like the National Rally today. There was no need for these comments to know that, but in my opinion they give it a new dimension,” he added.
“These comments attributed to Jordan Bardella are extremely serious. They repeat all the clichés of anti-Semitism as invented by far-right thought for 120 years,” Jean-François Copé, LR mayor of Meaux, blasted on RTL this Tuesday morning, after the president of the National Rally (RN) was accused, yesterday by Mediapart, of having made anti-Semitic and conspiratorial comments in 2013. Writings denied by the person concerned.
“Either Mediapart is not in a position to be able to prove it, and in this case they are providing a service to Jordan Bardella. Either Mediapart is able to prove it, by producing documents. If this is confirmed and demonstrated, the ball will be in the court of Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen, of the National Rally, who for years have explained that the party has demonized itself (...) Marine Le Pen must position herself. If the evidence is there, it will be more complicated for Jordan Bardella to deny. The limits of demonization of the RN have been exceeded for a very long time. Simply, far too many people pretend,” added Jean-François Copé.
“I am one of those at LR who have denounced from the start any form of collusion with the extreme right. The History of France is not a blank page. We have nothing to do with the RN.”
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu promised an additional 1.5 billion euros to the departments in the 2027 budget and proposed to allocate part of the general social contribution (CSG) to these communities, in a letter sent Monday to their presidents. “I wanted to make an exception in favor of the departments,” writes the tenant of Matignon in this letter revealed by Le Monde and of which AFP obtained a copy.
“Your revenue will thus increase beyond inflation: all departments will have an additional 1.5 billion euros at their disposal,” even if they will still have to participate in the national effort to restore public finances, it is added. The head of government also proposes to allocate “300 million euros of CSG to finance the personalized autonomy allowance (APA)”.
Social assistance, such as active solidarity income (RSA) or APA, represents a major and growing part of the budgets of departments in France, absorbing a very significant part of their operating expenses. The government will present a first copy of its budget for 2027 to the Council of Ministers on Thursday, leaving it up to Parliament to try to find a compromise, less than seven months from now.
