Marine Le Pen reaffirmed her intention to bring the legal retirement age back down to 62, or even 60 for some workers, during the debate hosted by employer federation MEDEF among the leading candidates for next year's presidential election. The National Rally leader presented the rollback as a non negotiable commitment of her platform, a deliberate break from the pension reform pushed through by Emmanuel Macron.
Under the plan Le Pen defends, workers who entered the labor market before age 20 could retire as early as 60, while the legal age would eventually be set at 62, with 42 years of contributions required. She has made it one of the social markers of her candidacy, aimed at reassuring the working class electorate that has powered the party's rise in recent elections.
The stance underscores an emerging rift with Jordan Bardella, the National Rally's president and the man Le Pen herself has named as her prospective prime minister should she win. Reports had already surfaced in recent months of an effort within Bardella's circle to soften the pledge, shifting the emphasis toward the 42 year contribution requirement rather than the legal age itself, an option that has unsettled the party's more working class wing.
By holding firm on 62, Le Pen appears intent on shutting down speculation that the party might quietly walk back one of its signature social promises, as the presidential campaign enters its most contested phase and the economy, public debt, and pensions already dominate the early exchanges between candidates.
This account draws on reporting by Le Journal du Net.