
French parliamentary elections: what are the main parties’ policies?
- Select a language for the TTS:
- UK English Female
- UK English Male
- US English Female
- US English Male
- Australian Female
- Australian Male
- Language selected: (auto detect) - EN
Play all audios:

THE LANDSCAPE IS DOMINATED BY THE FAR-RIGHT RASSEMBLEMENT NATIONAL, THE CENTRIST RENAISSANCE AND LEFT-WING NOUVEAU FRONT POPULAIRE France’s political landscape has changed since the victory
of the far right in the European parliamentary elections and President Macron’s subsequent announcement of snap French parliamentary elections on June 30 and July 7. The 2024 parliamentary
elections are essentially a three-way tug-of-war between the far-right Rassemblement National party, the centrist Renaissance and the left-wing alliance of the Nouveau Front Populaire. The
previous main parties, the right-wing Républicains (previously UMP) and the left-wing Parti Socialiste, have either fallen into a political no-man's-land or form part of a wider
alliance. We look at key points of the three main parties’ stated policies below: RASSEMBLEMENT NATIONAL (RN): Immigration: This is described as a priority topic along with security and
reducing the cost of living. The aim is stated to be to cut illegal and legal immigration, including an end to automatic French citizenship for people born to foreign parents on French soil,
known as the droit du sol. Read more: Dual nationals banned from some French jobs under far-right plans Taxes: Ending income tax for under-30s and to replace France’s property wealth tax
with an investment wealth tax. It also proposes removing inheritance tax for low to middle-income households and to replace the property wealth tax with an investment wealth tax Cost of
living: RN claims that it would keep the price of electricity “close to production costs”, cutting VAT on electricity and gas from 20% to 5.5%. Retirement: Previously critical of President
Macron’s recent retirement age increases (from 62 to 64), it is making no promise to reverse them. Schools: ‘A big-bang’ of authority in school, including bans on mobile phones and an
expansion of the experiments with uniforms (introduced by Gabriel Attal) from September Other: It wants to ‘eradicate Islamist ideology’ and stop reduced prison sentences. Read more: Dual
nationals banned from some French jobs under far-right plans NOUVEAU FRONT POPULAIRE: This left-wing alliance includes the Green Party, the Parti Socialist, the Communist Party and La France
Insoumise along with several others Immigration: It would reverse tougher immigration laws and make access to visas and 10-year residency cards easier. Taxes: To restore the wealth tax
(ISF), introduce a new ‘flat-tax’ on investments, “less tax” for everyone who earns less than €4,000 a month and nine more income tax bands for high earners, rising to 90% for people on more
than €400,000 a year. It also wants to reintroduce an ‘exit tax’ for tax exiles. Cost of living: A €200/month boost to the minimum wage Retirement: To cancel the increase in the retirement
age (from 62 to 64) and to return to retirement at age 60. Housing: To increase the APL housing allowance by 10% Read more: Programmes, dates, risks: a guide to France's snap elections
RENAISSANCE: Immigration: New French tests to obtain cartes de séjour, although parliament already approved this as part of the 2024 immigration law Taxes: Taxes will not increase Cost of
living: A 15% drop in electricity bills this winter, and social charge cuts on low-level salaries Retirement: A €1/ month retirees’ health top-up mutuelle Property: No notaire fees for
first-time homebuyers Other: An expansion of the four-day week for people working from home. Single parents sharing child care should have a right to adapt their hours. Read more: Macron:
why I called snap French election and won’t resign if we lose