Federations are treading lightly with their public comments, aware that they could be sitting across the table from National Rally (RN) ministers if the party scores a major breakthrough in the June 30 and July 7 ballots.
Local business group U2P would “respect the people’s choice, but the RN has to say more precisely what it proposes on questions with a tax, social and economic effect on small firms,” its chief Michel Picon told AFP.
At the last presidential election in 2022, the outfit had warned that RN chief Marine Le Pen’s manifesto promises “would have bad consequences for business,” he recalled.
At stake are issues such as returning to an official retirement age of 60 — raised to 64 in a wildly unpopular Macron reform last year — and a still harsher crackdown on immigration.
“What does this mean for people working for us today?” Picon asked.
“We’re business players who don’t get involved in politics,” said Thierry Cotillard, head of the Mousquetaires/Intermarche supermarket chain.
But “whoever the politicians are, we will fiercely defend our positions,” he warned.
Centrist Macron’s time in office has been marked by reforms aimed at making life easier for businesses and high-profile courting of foreign investment.
By contrast, “we know nothing” about the RN’s plans, said the head of one major European industrial firm’s French subsidiary on condition of anonymity.
“We’ve just seen the beginnings of a reindustrialisation for 10 years, with supply-side policies bearing fruit. Will all that be kept up?” he asked.
Macron’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Tuesday urged business to “stick their neck out” against the far right.
Groups including the big companies’ federation MEDEF should “clearly say what they think of the different parties’ economic programmes” and warn about “the cost of Marine Le Pen’s Marxist plans”, he added.
Without naming any party, MEDEF told AFP in a statement that “a new campaign is starting in which we do not share certain political visions, which are incompatible with business competitiveness and prosperity for our country and fellow citizens”.
The CPME small-business group called for supply-side policy, greenhouse emissions reduction and welfare state reforms to continue.
It also warned about France’s staggering three-trillion-euro ($3.2 trillion) debt pile, which ratings agency Moody’s said Monday risked a downgrade due to the “potential political instability” from the upcoming election.
“Anyone taking on costly reforms without taking this element into account would be exposing France to a major risk,” the CPME said.
The head of a firm on France’s heavyweight CAC 40 stock market index, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was no reason to panic as the RN winning was “not a done deal”.
Even if they did, they said, “everyone wants to upend things, but once in power, being responsible for things will make you responsible.”
One sector with particular fears for a far-right victory is renewable energy, which has already been waiting for months on a government roadmap stretching to 2035 and including items like sites for massive offshore wind parks.
