French Interior Minister Ices Mélenchon’s Economic Plans

Statements by France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin seem to indicate that steep tax increases are unlikely under.

In the aftermath of Sunday’s legislative elections, in which Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s hard-left “New Popular Front” (NFP) won the most seats, the coalition floated a 90 percent income tax on top earners.

Speaking to CNews on Wednesday, Darmanin said, “The program of the New Popular Front is delusional.” Referring to the NFP’s plans to raise the minimum wage and index salaries to inflation, Darmanin stated, “This is not the solution.” 

Darmanin also said that he will vote against any tax increase, and that he opposes any NFP government. 

“I will immediately censor any people, governments that come from this left,” he said.

Darmanin’s statements are significant as they suggest that Macron’s Ensemble, though happy to work with the hard-left to defeat the conservative Rassemblement National electorally, is otherwise hesitant about Mélenchon’s agenda. As no bloc—left, right, or center—holds more than a third of the seats in the National Assembly, this suggests that the next three years of French politics will be contentious.

The French people seem to agree with Darmanin’s rejection of the hard left. According to a poll published on Thursday, 73 percent of French people reject a hard-left government, while 61 percent are dissatisfied with the configuration of the parliament following the legislative elections.