Will the National Rally be the arbiter of Michel Barnier’s policies? This is what some on the left denounce and what others saw in Marine Le Pen’s speech to the National Assembly in the wake of the Prime Minister’s general policy declaration. The deputy for Romans-sur-Isère and Drôme des collines, Thibaut Monnier, reacts on France Bleu Drôme Ardèche to these speeches. He affirms that he will not vote to censure this government, at least not immediately.
How would you describe this general policy statement from Michel Barnier yesterday?
Very clearly, this speech does not reflect any clear break with Macronism. It is a discourse of petty administrative policy and social window which ultimately includes very few measures, certainly simplification, but we are failing in its initial objective, which was to propose a policy of rupture which would really respond to the aspirations of the French that I would summarize in three words: identity, security, purchasing power.
On the reduction of public spending and the revival of purchasing power, the Prime Minister remained very vague, contenting himself with talking about performance or sharing the effort with local authorities, announcing an anticipation in November 2024 of the increase in the minimum wage planned for 2025, which is frankly ridiculous.
For the RN and related group, the red line is the increase in taxes for the French and businesses.
Precisely, after Michel Barnier’s speech, Marine Le Pen spoke at the National Assembly and she gave red lines, you just said one, it is the purchasing power of the French. She also spoke about an immigration law and work on proportional representation that the National Rally has been calling for for several years. Is the RN saying to Michel Barnier, “it’s that or censorship”?
In any case, we don’t want chaos. In this terrible situation that the country is experiencing, we are above all in a position of responsibility while waiting for other deadlines to reinforce our majority. As for immigration, what worries me is that we waited more than an hour before the word immigration came out of the Prime Minister’s mouth. Today, it is about applying the Asylum-Immigration pact and reversing the flow. And there, we will be up to the migratory challenge.
But hey, the good news, as you said, is that the Prime Minister is considering reforming the voting method in favor of proportional representation. And that’s a very good thing that we’re looking forward to.
What more do you need on immigration?
We need a global pact, that is to say we must stop the flows, strengthen our national borders, the double border with effectively a strengthening of Frontex borders. And obviously the whole indirect immigration policy with the treatment of OQTFs, with the entire strengthening of the system linked to immigration. Today we can clearly see that everything is very light and this brings terrible drama to our country.
Yesterday, Michel Barnier spoke about these OQTFs. In any case, he spoke of resuming discussions with countries which refuse to receive people who are expelled from France. Is that a step towards the National Rally?
Yes, it’s a step especially towards the French. We can clearly see that in all the surveys, the French are overwhelmingly interested in this system. So now we’ll see. We indeed hope that this path is ardently taken. And then, we will obviously be very attentive to what the Prime Minister and the government propose. So we are expecting a very firm position from the Minister of the Interior.
If this path is not taken, will you vote for a possible motion of censure? Will you file one?
But possibly, we will wait anyway until the government can be put in place. As I tell you, we are not an extravagant group, we know a sense of responsibility, we are pragmatic, we are focused on the interests of the French. So it will be a matter of quickly observing the policy and obviously letting the government do its work over the first weeks.
One last question, Thibaut Monnier, on the ongoing trial of several personalities of the RN of which you are now a member, for embezzlement of public funds, if voters in your constituency talk to you about it, what do you answer them?
So already, I’m not going to comment, since it’s a legal matter, I don’t have all the elements, but I think that Marine Le Pen will defend herself, obviously, very well. However, I find it very unhealthy that this climate of deviance where justice constantly interferes in political life and in the functioning of our democracies. Tomorrow, imagine that Marine Le Pen could be declared ineligible by an unelected judge, even though she represents millions of French people. It is nevertheless a perspective which poses a democratic problem. And above all, we are all for the separation of powers. I am the first in favor. But in this case, there must be for all and all separations of powers, in this case justice and the executive.
