Thatcherism Redux in France

For the past 30 years, French voters have elected leaders who tinkered around the edges of economic policy. The 2017 presidential election could be different. Former Prime Minister François Fillon, the center-right standard-bearer, is a neo-Thatcherite who wants to downsize government, slash taxes on corporations and the rich, and scale back labor protections. His leading rival, Marine Le Pen of the National Front, has an economic plan that could be mistaken for a Marxist tract, with calls to strengthen the social safety net, raise trade barriers, and nationalize the banks.

The drastic measures proposed by both candidates are a reflection of France’s malaise, with anemic growth and unemployment hovering around 10 percent for most of the past five years. Fillon is betting the French will give up some of their social protections to jump-start growth. “France will not stand for its decline,” he told supporters after winning the nomination on Nov. 27.