Overview
- The party held a private seminar Friday outside Paris where Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella tried to reconcile public differences on pension policy.
- Bardella has said the legal retirement age 'means nothing' and pushed to reframe reform around years of contributions, not a fixed age.
- Le Pen has repeatedly defended the RN pledge of retirement at 62 and 60 for early starters, saying the 2022 marker remains the party's position.
- Insiders warn Bardella's comments have created internal alarm and risk confusing voters by breaking the RN's usual unified messaging before candidate selection.
- Strategists say the party faces real fiscal limits and may need deeper savings than the touted €100 billion target, with one estimate near €120 billion, which helps explain calls to delay final choices until the autumn.