Following the 'common foundation' experience, Les Républicains aim to reposition themselves by unveiling their economic project led by Bruno Retailleau. This document seeks to project the party into the future while distinguishing it from current pressures. Amid the upcoming budget debate, it provides an alternative to the dilemmas posed by socialist demands.
Les Républicains (LR) face a dual challenge: projecting into the future and asserting their political singularity. The presentation by Bruno Retailleau of the party's economic project directly addresses this need. It comes in a context marked by the failure of the 'common foundation' and calls to align with an arc including the outgoing Macron camp.
The debate on the 2026 finance bill (PLF) is poisoning political life again by the end of January. Public opinion and actors share an obsession: to close this discussion as quickly as possible. However, speeding up often means yielding to the Socialist Party's demands, which call for 10 billion euros in additional taxes and 8 billion in extra spending. If Minister Sébastien Lecornu refuses to use article 49.3, LR is stuck between two tricky options: approve the Lecornu-Faure text and shoulder a budgetary forward flight, or oppose it and risk prolonged blockage.
By organizing the debate around a 2027 project, Retailleau offers a more constructive path. This allows escaping the infernal budget framework and charting a clear line for the party's future, away from current budgetary mishaps.