The French far-right National Rally (RN) party has begun to criticize both US President Donald Trump, the French government and major oil companies for rising energy prices and profiting from the crisis caused by the war in the Middle East, writes Politico.
The RN has called for lowering taxes on natural gas and introducing market controls to protect consumers from the growing crisis. The cost of living is one of the main issues in the pre-election campaign of the party led by Marine Le Pen ahead of next year’s French presidential election.
Le Pen said in an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien on the 31st of March that Trump clearly did not fully assess the consequences of his attack on Iran – in fact, it is clear that the preparation was very little. Pointing to the catastrophic impact of the war on oil prices, Le Pen said: “We therefore feel that these strikes were carried out blindly.”
Le Pen supported US and Israeli strikes on Iran in the early days of the war, but last week she criticized Trump for his chaotic goals and called the attack on Iran a mistake.
Trump initially sought to establish contact with Le Pen and the RN after taking office in January 2025, but
the party has come to see Washington’s support as damaging to its prospects, given Trump’s low approval ratings in France.
Le Pen’s party has also criticized the French government for putting oil tax revenue ahead of consumer interests and not doing enough to protect the public. Party heavyweight Jean-Philippe Tanguy called a press conference on the 31st of March to discuss the measures proposed by the RN, including a reduction in the tax rate on energy and the introduction of temporary controls on profit margins to ensure that oil companies, distributors and other players in the sector do not pocket the tax cuts.
Tanguy also criticized the government for partially releasing France’s strategic oil reserves. The move was coordinated with other G7 countries, but Tanguy said France’s strategic reserves are being managed in a way that aligns with the interests of oil companies.
Calls for tax cuts and market controls reflect the party’s strategy of positioning itself as a hero for the working class. However, the fiscal cost of the RN’s proposals and its attacks on oil companies risk undermining its credibility on economic issues and undermining support among the business community, which the RN needs to attract centrist voters in the elections.
Tanguy’s comments follow Le Pen’s accusations last week that the government is behaving like a profiteer during the crisis, emphasizing the greater tax revenue it will generate if oil prices rise. The government has rejected the idea of tax cuts, saying they would increase France’s already large budget deficit.
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