Before facing each other at the polls on June 30 and July 7, the three representatives of the country’s main political forces debated this Tuesday, June 25, during a special evening on TF1. Here are the 12 punchlines from this debate.
Gabriel Attal, Ensemble
“Unlike my competitors, I do not want to promise the French the Moon”
“Unlike my competitors, I do not want to promise the Moon to the French,” launched Gabriel Attal in response to the measures proposed by Jordan Bardella to improve the purchasing power of the French, and in particular on the reduction in VAT from 20 to 5.5% on fuel, which, according to him, would not be financed. The Prime Minister also mentioned the increase in the minimum wage proposed by the New Popular Front, which, according to him, would force entrepreneurs to pay more charges and therefore to lay off workers, thus creating an increase in unemployment.
“Your minimum wage of 1,600 euros is a job-destroying machine”
“Your minimum wage of 1,600 euros is a job-destroying machine,” the Prime Minister also insisted, addressing Manuel Bompard, to explain once again that this measure would imply an increase in costs for bosses, who will not would not be sustainable, and which would force business leaders to make layoffs to avoid going bankrupt, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Manuel Bompard responded by explaining that the increase in consumption, driven by this wage increase, would fill the order books of companies, thus creating a “virtuous circle”, and that other measures would be deployed for companies in difficulty.
“Kylian Mbappé was wrong to go to Madrid because with you, he would have been exempt from taxes”
“Kylian Mbappé was wrong to go to Madrid because with you, he would have been exempt from taxes,” quipped the Prime Minister in response to the National Rally’s measure which consists of the abolition of income tax for under 30 years old. A measure deemed unfair and demagogic by Gabriel Attal, who believes that there is “no reason for a 31-year-old worker to pay taxes, and not a 29-year-old trader”.
“With you, Tamara it’s yes, Rachida it’s no”
“With you, Tamara is yes, Rachida is no,” said Gabriel Attal to Jordan Bardella regarding his measure against the allocation of strategic positions to dual nationals. The Prime Minister was referring in particular to a member of the National Rally group in the European Parliament who has dual Franco-Russian nationality. According to Gabriel Attal, this measure would in reality only target a portion of dual nationals, and would have contributed to “humiliating” a portion of French people who have dual nationality.
Jordan Bardella, National Rally
“You are a social scam”
“You are a social scam,” lamented the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, to the coordinator of La France insoumise, Manuel Bompard. Jordan Bardella thus reacted to the social measures carried out by the New Popular Front and in particular the increase in the minimum wage to 1,600 euros per month or the increase in the minimum old age.
“The difference between Gabriel Attal and me is that I don’t spend money that I don’t have”
“The difference between Gabriel Attal and me is that I do not spend money that I do not have,” criticized the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, while the three opponents were questioned about power purchasing habits of the French.
“It’s not just immigration that concerns me, there’s also emigration”
“It’s not just immigration that concerns me, there’s also emigration,” said Jordan Bardella to justify his measure concerning the abolition of income tax for those under 30. According to the president of the RN, these taxes would lead to the flight of “our talents”. He intends to put an end to this emigration “by the end of his action in Matignon”, if he obtains a majority in the National Assembly.
“I will be the Prime Minister who can no longer take his part on immigration”
“I will be the Prime Minister who can no longer take his part on immigration,” insisted Jordan Bardella, questioned about his program concerning immigration. To do this, the president of the National Rally plans in particular to abolish land law or even state medical aid (AME), i.e. free basic care for foreigners arriving in France. Jordan Bardella, however, nuanced this by explaining that he would continue to welcome immigrants, explaining that “zero immigration is a slogan”.
Manuel Bompard, New Popular Front
“No one understands anything about your retirement system”
“No one understands anything about your retirement system,” Manuel Bompard told Jordan Bardella, when asked about his measures for the retirement of the French. As a reminder, the question of pensions is not among the party’s eight main themes for the legislative elections. But the current RN MEP affirmed that the question of a repeal of the pension reform would “probably” be scheduled for the fall.
“You don’t want to touch the great fortunes of this country”
“You don’t want to touch the great fortunes of this country,” Manuel Bompard told Jordan Bardella. “Since the beginning of this debate, whether it’s on the issue of prices or the issue of taxation, there are just people you don’t want to touch, they are the great fortunes of this country, they are the billionaires who have seen their fortunes increase tenfold in an extraordinary way in recent years,” Manuel Bompard said, attacking the financing of the social measures supported by the National Rally.
“A virus doesn’t know if a person has papers or if they don’t”
“A virus doesn’t know if a person has papers or if they don’t,” Manuel Bompard reminded Jordan Bardella about his desire to eliminate state medical aid, which could cause problems. sanitary facilities. “There is no more absurd proposal than this because everyone knows that it will cost more money because the pathologies will get worse, it will cost more to treat them, it creates a risk of risk of epidemics spreading across the entire population because you know, a virus doesn’t know if a person has papers or if they don’t,” quipped Manuel Bompard.
“You occupied the media news with this subject which concerned no one”
“You occupied the media news with this subject which concerned no one,” criticized Manuel Bompard on the subject of the ban on the abaya at school pronounced by Gabriel Attal when he was Minister of Education. Manuel Bompard believes that “the entire back to school period was spent discussing a subject that concerned no one. You have occupied the media news with this subject so as not to talk about the others,” he lamented.
“The problem at school is that there haven’t been teachers in front of each class like you said. The problem is that we have students who have great difficulty accessing school supplies and textbooks. If you vote on Sunday for the New Popular Front, school will truly be free from September,” he continued.
