France’s Marine Le Pen readies for fight with EU

Marc Filippino (0:02)

Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Wednesday, October 14th, and this is your FT News Briefing.

France's far-right presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, sits down with the FT. And will Accenture survive the age of AI? Plus, we'll look at why Saudi Arabia's defense systems haven't stopped the Houthis. I'm Marc Filippino, and here's the news you need to start your day.

Marine Le Pen might finally have her moment in the sun. After multiple runs for president, she's the frontrunner in France's upcoming election. Judges cleared her to run earlier this year, even though she was convicted of embezzling from the European Parliament. Le Pen sat down with the FT's editor, Rula Halof. They discussed her plans for France's debt-laden economy and relations with the EU.

Roula Khalaf (1:00)

And obviously, given that she may very well be the next French president, it's important for our readers to get to know her and to be able to evaluate her policies.

Marc Filippino (1:14)

Rula explains why this time around, Le Pen is closer than ever to winning.

Roula Khalaf (1:19)

I think because of the state that France is in, France is going through a whole range of economic problems. I think the markets are very jittery about France and about France's debt.

Marine Le Pen (1:32)

Oui, je suis absolument convaincu, non seulement qu'il y a un véritable souhait de fermer une parenthèse.

Roula Khalaf (1:42)

She now feels that France is ready for a rupture. The center has hollowed. The left, the traditional left hasn't done well. The traditional right hasn't done well. So I think if you look at the political landscape, there are a lot of French people today who will say, well, we can try something new. And what is that something new? It's either the far right or the far left.

Marc Filippino (2:07)

The topic of Ukraine came up in the interview. The far right leader has very contentious views about Russia and European support for Kyiv.

Roula Khalaf (2:14)

On Ukraine, she's very clear. She says France cannot afford to keep supporting Ukraine financially.

Marine Le Pen (2:22)

I would say very clearly that in the six months of my arrival in power, I would stop financing Ukraine because we can't anymore.

Roula Khalaf (2:30)

However, she does say that she wants Ukraine to win and she's critical of Russia.

Historically, she has, of course, like a lot of your skeptics and far right parties, been closer to Russia. But she now talks about being equidistant from all of France's partners. She also mentions she'd like to have a peace conference. So I would say her attitude is perhaps a bit closer to the US, to the Trump administration on Ukraine, than it is to her European partners.

Marc Filippino (3:05)

Le Pen also told Rula about her plans for France and the European Union. This includes cutting Paris's contributions to the bloc's budget.

Roula Khalaf (3:13)

This is something that is very controversial. She recognizes that there would have to be a negotiation.

Marine Le Pen (3:20)

We know that there would be a firm and a debate, and even a iron rod to be held with the European Union.

Roula Khalaf (3:27)

Her argument is that, well, you know, I will have a lot of allies and we will have to, we will all go together to renegotiate.

Marine Le Pen (3:36)

With the help of a whole series of other governments.

Roula Khalaf (3:39)

More generally, the thing to understand today about the economic program that she unveiled only last week is that she's trying to appeal to the left, she's trying to appeal to the right. So she wants to cut spending, but she also wants to deal with the cost of living. One of the policies is to lower, actually lower the retirement age. The reaction to her economic plan has been from a lot of economists.

What they have said is that it's incoherent.

Marc Filippino (4:13)

Rula Halof is the editor of the FT. You can find more of her interview with Le Pen in the show notes.

You don't need me to tell you that artificial intelligence is shaking up a lot of industries. But when it comes to the world's largest IT consulting firm, Accenture, investors can't decide whether AI will be an existential threat or an incredible boost. Accenture is hoping to clear things up at an Investor Day event happening today. Stephen Foley is the FT's US accounting editor and he joins me now to discuss. Hey Stephen.

Stephen Foley (4:48)

Hi, great to be here.

Marc Filippino (4:49)

Good to have you. So why is today such a big day for Accenture?

Stephen Foley (4:52)