French PM Gabriel Attal clashes with young rivals in fiery TV debate (2024)

The rising young stars of France's leading political parties battled it out in a hotly contested three-way debate last night with the first round of parliamentary elections looming large.

The televised clash between Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, the far-right Jordan Bardella of the National Rally party (RN) and far-left Manuel Bompard of the France Unbowed party (LFI) provided little in the way of real policy insights.

But it offered plenty of spicy arguments as the three rising stars of French politics - all under 40 - sought to deliver tasty sound bites and score points off their rivals.

Attal, the 35-year-old protégé of centrist president Emmanuel Macron, cast himself as a realist who would not 'promise the French the moon' - an approach which jarred with that of his far-right opponent, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella.

Bardella, the golden boy of the French far-right handpicked by Macron's arch-rival Marine Le Pen, stayed true to his populist roots and blew a lot of hot air Attal's way - without delivering a convincing argument of how he could do better.

Meanwhile, the 38-year-old Bompard - who represented the LFI in place of its founder Jean-Luc Melenchon - stood by and kept both his rivals in check, jumping in to challenge both on their bold claims and deliver stinging comments.

Most opinion polls suggest that Bardella's RN are likely to storm to victory in the two-round election on June 30 and July 7, with Macron's centrist Renaissance party lagging far behind.

If the far-right outfit wins an absolute majority then Macron will be forced to remove Attal and name the RN's Bardella as prime minister.

He would then be mired in an awkward power sharing arrangement with the RN, who would undoubtedly set about introducing new policies and legislations even as Macron continues to lead as president until his term ends in 2027.

But the outcome of the elections remains highly uncertain due to the complex, two-stage voting system and potential political alliances.

France's retirement age and taxes emerged as top points of contention that dominated the Tuesday night debate.

Bardella, who last night presented himself as a potential 'purchasing power prime minister', started the debate by producing the picture of an electricity bill he said was making millions of people anxious, reiterating his pledge to cut VAT on power and fuel.

He and Attal traded barbs over the flagship cost-of-living proposal, with Macron's prime minister repeatedly pushing his right-wing opponent to explain how he would fund a measure he said would cost significantly more than Bardella's 12 billion euros estimate.

'Jordan Bardella says every time that he will reduce VAT as if by magic but without saying how he will finance it,' he said.

Rather than delivering such an explanation, Bardella shot back, saying Attal had zero credibility on public finances - a cornerstone of the RN's manifesto.

'I'm hearing you, Mr Attal, lecturing us on budget discipline, despite the fact you now have the biggest debt in the euro zone and you have created a public deficit of 5.4%,' he said, adding France was now in a state of 'near bankruptcy'.

But Bardella, the 28-year-old who led Marine Le Pen's successful campaign for the European parliament election earlier this month, also came under fire from Bompard - a candidate for the left-wing New Popular Front alliance of which the LFI is the top party.

Bompard accused the 28-year-old of watering down the RN manifesto, alleging he was promising the world before dropping costly populist measures now that he is getting closer to potentially taking power.

'The truth is that little by little, he has abandoned, over the past 10 days, all the cost-of-living measures in his manifesto,' Bompard declared.

Bardella, who has promised to cut the minimum pension age to 60 for those who started work before 20, was also pushed to clarify what he would do for someone whose career started at 24.

He said that person could retire at 66, suggesting workers would need to have a 42-year career in order to be entitled to a full pension, but this was the first time he had mentioned such an old age, prompting backlash on social media.

Another of Bardella's populist proposals - exempting under-30s from paying income tax - was also ridiculed by both his rivals who said the idea was fantastical and added that it made no sense to exempt rich young professionals.

Referring to France's leading footballer, Attal sarcastically said that 25-year-old Kylian Mbappé made a mistake signing for top Spanish side Real Madrid.

'Kylian Mbappé was wrong to go to Madrid - he should have stayed here, since with you he would have stopped paying taxes,' an incredulous Attal told Bardella, before alleging that Bardella himself would stand to benefit from the proposal.

'Why would a 31-year-old labourer pay taxes, while a 29-year-old consultant or trader would stop paying?' the prime minister asked.

Bompard meanwhile cited reports from economists that claimed the RN's proposal would only contribute to making the rich richer at the expense of the poorest 30% share of the population.

Besides economic issues, another RN proposal being pushed by Bardella would see the abolition of free health care for foreigners and the 'droit du sol' law which affords anyone born on French soil the right to citizenship.

The RN candidate also declared he wouldprevent dual citizens from accessing certain 'strategic' state jobs - a policy that attracted the ire of both rivals.

Attal said the proposal was a clear example of the true objectives of the RN, which has long been dogged by claims of xenophobia and racism.

'The message you are sending is that when we are dual citizens, we are half-citizens, we are not real French people,' Attal said, adding that he suspected the real targets of the RN proposal were not people with high-level positions, but everyday dual citizens.

France's upcoming snap vote was called by Macron in the days following his party's defeat in European parliamentary elections earlier this month.

Macron hoped to trip up his opponents and catch them unprepared by calling an election on such short notice.

But analysts have warned the move could backfire if the deeply unpopular president is forced to share power with the RN.