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Euro is a "knife in the ribs" of the French says Le Pen

By Dominique Vidalon

REUTERS

 

Marine Le Pen, French National Front (FN) political party leader and candidate for French 2017 presidential election, smiles to supporters at the end of a political rally in Bordeaux, France, April 2, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

 

BORDEAUX/CHATEAUROUX (Reuters) - French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen told a political rally on Sunday that the euro currency which she wants France to ditch was like a knife in the ribs of the French people.

 

The leader of the eurosceptic and anti-immigrant National Front (FN) also told the rally in the city of Bordeaux that the forthcoming election for president could herald a "change in civilisation".

 

Encouraged by the unexpected election of Donald Trump in the United States and by Britain's vote to leave the European Union, Le Pen hopes to profit from a similar populist momentum in France, though opinion polls suggest she will lose the May 7 run-off.

 

"We are at the mercy of a currency adapted to Germany and not to our economy. The euro is mostly a knife stuck in our ribs to make us go where others want us to go," Le Pen said to loud cheers and applause.

 

Reiterating her anti-globalisation and anti-immigration views, she declared: "We do not want France to be open to all commercial and human flows, without protection and borders."

 

A government under Le Pen's presidency would take France out of the euro zone and bring back a national currency, hold a referendum on its EU membership and slap taxes on imports and on companies hiring foreigners.

 

Le Pen says she would curb migration, expel all illegal migrants and restrict certain rights now available to all residents, including free education, to French citizens.

 

She hit out at her two main opponents in the French election, independent centrist Emmanuel Macron and conservative candidate Francois Fillon, saying they belonged to "the same system".

 

"The system is panicking because it sees people are waking up," she said.

 

Opinion polls forecast Le Pen will do well in the April 23 first round of the presidential election only to lose the May 7 run-off to centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron.

 

But the high number of undecided voters means the outcome remains unpredictable and motivating people to go to the polling stations will be key for the leading candidates.

 

MELENCHON SAYS LE PEN CANNOT WIN

 

Elsehere in France, left wing firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon told a political rally in Chateauroux, central France, he was convinced Le Pen stood no chance of winning the election.

 

"A chair, a table, or a bench would be elected rather than her in this country," he said.

 

Le Pen, Melenchon and Macron are all trying to attract voters disillusioned with mainstream parties.

 

There some similarities between Melenchon's platform and Le Pen's, both sceptical of the EU and globalisation but offering very different policies as the former Socialist staunchly criticises Le Pen's views on immigration.

 

Melenchon, who has overtaken the official Socialist party candidate Benoit Hamon in election polls and now ranks fourth, on the heels of Fillon, told his supporters: "the wave is rising, my friends".

 

Melenchon, a political veteran, whose potential election score in polls has risen to as high as 16 percent in the past few days, has ruled out asking Hamon to pull out of the race and join him.

 

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Richard Balmforth, Greg Mahlich)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-03

[Dustdevil]

If I wanted some francs in my portfolio, I'd buy Swiss any day. I wouldn't want French ones.

[sanukjim]

Oh Yes,The nations of The EU are starting to realize that without The UK's money,they will have to pay more to support the leaches of Greece,Spain,and Italy. Also all of the refugees with their hand out.  5555

[Prbkk]

She would stand a better chance if France had an electoral college system similar to the US. The conservatives and the socialists will come together in the second round and elect the lesser of 2 evils, without much enthusiasm. She is unelectable, fortunately.

[Guest]

Team Putin is fortunately losing power in the west, despite their strong efforts. Le Pen is not even shy of showing her connections with the Russian leader.

 

 

[Stargeezr]

Go for it France, get rid of the Euro  and go back to your own currency, do like Britain.  Ha  Ha , sorry   it  is too late for you France,

you  have  waited too long.   Good  Luck,  enjoy  your  Muslim  ,  who  are  taking over.

Geezer

[rudi49jr]

Euro is a "knife in the ribs" of France says Le Pen.

 

I think she got that backwards : Le Pen herself - and that adorable anti-semitic father of hers - is the knife in the ribs of France.

[chilli42]

I have looked and looked but have yet to find a cogent arguement for why the the EU is bad for the member countries.  Sure people will cherry pick this or that economic or financial fact but have never seen anyone take an unbiased view of the plus and minus.  My bet, it's been good for U.K. and France.  What I do agree is that the management of the EU is intolerable and heavy handed.

[ilostmypassword]

10 minutes ago, chilli42 said:

I have looked and looked but have yet to find a cogent arguement for why the the EU is bad for the member countries.  Sure people will cherry pick this or that economic or financial fact but have never seen anyone take an unbiased view of the plus and minus.  My bet, it's been good for U.K. and France.  What I do agree is that the management of the EU is intolerable and heavy handed.

Well, the Euro has certainly been bad for many of the economies of the EU. It's been great for Germany, though.

[impulse]

Problematic as the European Union is, the Euro's are in a decent run where they haven't been at war with each other.  Seems like they've always had something to fight about for the last 1,000 years or more.

 

I'd sure hate to see that streak end over money.

[dick dasterdly]

48 minutes ago, chilli42 said:

I have looked and looked but have yet to find a cogent arguement for why the the EU is bad for the member countries.  Sure people will cherry pick this or that economic or financial fact but have never seen anyone take an unbiased view of the plus and minus.  My bet, it's been good for U.K. and France.  What I do agree is that the management of the EU is intolerable and heavy handed.

"I have looked and looked but have yet to find a cogent arguement for why the the EU is bad for the member countries.  Sure people will cherry pick this or that economic or financial fact but have never seen anyone take an unbiased view of the plus and minus."

 

Hardly suprising as everyone is biased and, (on the whole) only looking out for their own financial interests and/or priorities.

Edited April 3, 2017 by dick dasterdly

[geriatrickid]

3 hours ago, sanukjim said:

Oh Yes,The nations of The EU are starting to realize that without The UK's money,they will have to pay more to support the leaches of Greece,Spain,and Italy. Also all of the refugees with their hand out.  5555

Too simple. The true culprit has been the Benelux countries, with emphasis upon Belgium. This little corrupt gerry mandered  country has manipulated the system since it was started, playing factions off one against the other and ensuring that it maximized its benefits to the detriment of others. Yes  the 3 you mention have their issues, but neither Spain nor Italy engaged in the political blackmail of the Belgians. Luxembourg facilitated the legal tax evasion of too many people and companies to allow it  to walk away without being held accountable for the damage it caused the economies of Germany, the UK, and France, the USA and Canada. Two countries who have  gotten away with some horrible  economic games.