Édouard Philippe proposes 350-euro family allowance and twenty ordinances if elected

Twenty ordinances and a route to power

Édouard Philippe, the former prime minister who leads Horizons and is mayor of Le Havre, was the first guest of the revived L'Heure de vérité on France 2 on Thursday 8 October, answering questions for more than two hours. The questions covered student mobilisation, purchasing power, the pension reform and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Asked about the weight of the presidency, he said he was impressed by the task, and he said he does not plan to live at the Élysée. If elected, he would present around twenty ordinances in the extraordinary parliamentary session that begins in July 2027, so that they take effect by autumn.

He tied that timetable to a parliamentary majority, which the country has lacked since Emmanuel Macron's surprise dissolution in 2024. He argued that the ordinances were needed to end a state of indecision in which the country has lived since at least 2024. He described his goal in these words:

My goal is for this country to be commanded and governed. It needs it. We need to restore order and we need to move forward.

A 350-euro allowance from the first child

Philippe proposed a single family allowance of 350 euros a month paid from the first child, which would then be tapered according to income tax. He also wants working families who have a second or a third child to receive a tax reduction of about 3,000 euros, a measure he said he would make available if they wish to have more children. Families with a child who must move to a larger flat and decide to buy would be eligible for a zero-rate loan, which he restated during the broadcast. He said he wants to revise the family allowance system totally, arguing that the nation needs to support those who have children.

Our nation needs to support those who have children.

Two more hours a week for 1,000 euros a year

On purchasing power, Philippe proposed that French workers work two more hours a week, for a gain of 1,000 euros a year. He said that sum is not negligible for someone on the minimum wage, and he said he would ask the French to make efforts because getting out of the current situation requires everyone to work a little more. He framed the request as a matter of collective effort rather than a single tax measure. The working-time proposal sits alongside the family package, which the broadcast presented as the main content of his programme on household income.

That is not negligible when you earn the minimum wage.

Pensions and the sweeter side of the programme

Philippe defended the pension reform during the broadcast, saying that after a working life, the pension must be guaranteed to those who take it. LesEchos headlined its report by describing the family measures as a touch of sweetness coming after the salt of the pension reform. The contrast was the editorial frame of several outlets, which covered the family allowance as the most concrete part of his offer. The interview gave him more than two hours to present the package in his own terms.

Background to the programme

The broadcast marked the return of L'Heure de vérité, which aired on Antenne 2 and disappeared in 1995, when Philippe was 25. Figaro columnist Guillaume Tabard wrote that Philippe has been officially a candidate for two years and one month, while his presidential ambition has been visible since he left Matignon in summer 2020. The sources do not give a date for the start of the ordinance process beyond July 2027.