Jordan Bardella Meets Medef Leaders to Normalize RN Relations with Business Elite

Jordan Bardella, president of the Rassemblement National, met with the executive board of Medef for a lunch on Monday, April 20, 2026, at a hotel in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, in a meeting that drew sharp reactions from trade unions and commentary across European media. Bardella described the exchanges as "extremely courteous" and "taboo-free, transparent" on the French economy, with discussions covering taxation and standards. He was accompanied by Moselle deputy Alexandre Loubet and special advisor François Durvye. The lunch lasted more than two hours, though neither Bardella nor his two colleagues disclosed the precise content of their discussions with Medef leadership. Bardella rejected the framing of the meeting as an evaluation, stating he had "not come to have his program validated by Medef" and was "not in an audition at school." He added that he expected Medef to bring "concrete proposals for the recovery of French companies" to the table.

RN publishes simplification letter ahead of 2027 run On the morning of April 20, Bardella and Marine Le Pen, leader of the RN parliamentary group, published a joint letter on X addressed to business leaders, announcing they are "developing a major simplification ordinance project" to be launched at the start of a potential presidential term in 2027. The letter states the project aims to "lift the normative locks that hinder the economic development of France," targeting "legal and administrative constraints" stemming notably from European legal texts. The RN leaders indicated they are tasking three party officials, including Alexandre Loubet, with organizing meetings with "the main French professional federations as well as organizations representing the economic world." Bardella presented his economic priorities at the lunch as including "the reduction of energy costs," "massive simplification for entrepreneurs," "the reduction of standards," and "the reduction of production taxes." He also reiterated that repealing the pension reform remained "one of the objectives" of his project, though he placed it in a later "phase of social justice" after more immediate priorities. On the question of a liberal shift for the RN, Bardella said he believes "in the freedom to undertake," adding that he is "not from the left" and "not ashamed of business." Alexandre Loubet stressed, however, that the RN "does not change one iota" on its positions regarding immigration costs, territorial governance, or the European Union.

„I am not in an audition at school. I also expect from the Medef concrete proposals for the recovery of the French company.” — Jordan Bardella via France 24

Dinner with Arnault preceded Bardella's Medef appearance The Medef lunch followed a dinner held on April 7, 2026, at the Drouant restaurant in Paris, which brought together Marine Le Pen and approximately fifteen senior French executives, including Bernard Arnault, chief executive of LVMH, Patrick Pouyanné of TotalEnergies, Catherine MacGregor of Engie, and Cyrille Bolloré, chief executive of the Bolloré family group, as well as leaders from Accor, Renault, and Capgemini. The dinner was reported by Le Nouvel Obs and most participants were subsequently quick to indicate they had not been fully convinced by Le Pen's remarks. The Medef meeting with Bardella is part of a broader series of interviews the employers' organization is conducting with leaders of the main political parties ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Édouard Philippe, leader of the Horizons party and former prime minister, is scheduled to be received by Medef on April 22, 2026. The German weekly Die Zeit described French billionaires as "looking for a new president," while The Times wrote that the prospect of an RN victory "worries top bosses and encourages them to court this populist party that they had long considered a pariah."

The RN's relationship with French employers has historically been adversarial. In her 2012 book Pour que vive la France, Marine Le Pen described the "financial elite" as approving of a "globalist project" that served "the interests of the big globalized bosses, CAC 40 and Medef combined." The party's gradual repositioning on economic issues has accelerated as polling consistently places an RN candidate in the second round of the 2027 presidential election. Monday's lunch marked the first time the RN had been formally received by Medef.

Union leader accuses Medef of chasing RN promises on deregulation The meeting drew immediate criticism from labor representatives. François Hommeril, president of the CFE-CGC, said on franceinfo that "we have understood that Medef is shopping in the RN's little shop," adding that he viewed the sequence with "a half-amused, half-ironic look" given Medef's earlier stated positions. Hommeril argued that Medef, "anticipating that the RN will exercise power," was seeking "promises" in exchange for contributing to the far-right party's campaign, particularly around "even more deregulation." He also noted that the RN was turning to an organization that does not represent small businesses. The CFDT union had previously described Medef's invitation to Bardella as "cynicism." By contrast, Amir Reza Tofighi, president of the CPME, the organization representing small and medium-sized enterprises, defended the meeting on RTL, saying: "We speak with everyone who today is in power or seeks to be in power because we defend businesses." Opinion columnist Gérald Bronner, writing in L'Express, warned that companies seeking predictability risked "contributing to the legitimization of a force whose accession to power could organize an anomic situation," drawing a cautious historical parallel with economic elites who underestimated radical political forces before they reached power.

„This does not surprise me; it has been several months since we understood that Medef is shopping in the RN's little shop.” — François Hommeril via Franceinfo