Marine Le Pen Puts National Priority at Center of Hénin-Beaumont Housing Plan for 2027

Marine Le Pen used her first major campaign speech in Hénin-Beaumont to place “national priority” at the center of her housing platform for France’s 2027 presidential election, pledging that French citizens would come “first in their own country” regardless of skin colour, religion or origin.

“promise French citizens that they would come “first in their own country””

Euronews

Euronews quoted her saying, “We will guarantee all French citizens a natural and fair right,” and the policy would apply to housing, including access to social housing.E

Atlantico

The Connexion reported that she also outlined plans to restrict France’s housing benefit (Aide personnalisée au logement, APL) to only French citizens, while she said she would abolish the SRU law (Solidarité et renouvellement urbains) that requires local authorities to ensure a portion of housing stock is social housing.T

The News Pakistan said Le Pen told supporters that under her presidency French people would “have priority in their own country,” and it described her as speaking to around 2,000 supporters with Jordan Bardella seated in the front row.

Euronews added that Le Pen promised to cut VAT from 20% to 5.5% for gas, electricity and heating oil as part of her cost-of-living and housing agenda.E

Europe 1 framed Le Pen’s “national priority” for social housing as clashing with equality principles and French and European law, arguing that “no, because the equal treatment principle prevails at both the French and European levels.”

Europe 1 also said the constitutional question could require change, noting that “the constitution might need to be amended,” perhaps after a referendum, to let French people have priority in the allocation of housing units.

El País

Public Sénat reported that RN deputy Laurent Jacobelli insisted, “The first social measure will be to ensure that all French people are prioritized at home,” and he said that in a case where “there is a candidate presented by a French family and another file presented by a foreign family, the French family takes precedence.”

Public Sénat quoted Jacobelli defending the approach as “not unconstitutional,” while it also said Le Pen’s spokesperson dismissed compliance risks by saying, “we will simply add an extra condition on nationality.”

Europe 1 concluded that national preference in housing funded by public money was “far from becoming a reality unless Europe is left,” while the National Rally “now refuses to do” so.

Le Pen delivered the speech in Hénin-Beaumont on Sunday, September 13, and Euronews described the town as a National Rally stronghold where its mayor, Steeve Briois, has been in power for 14 years.E

“got supporters to sing “Happy Birthday” to him”

Euronews

Euronews reported that Le Pen got supporters to sing “Happy Birthday” to Jordan Bardella, while it also noted that she met with MPs from her party for a closed-door political meeting in Le Touquet on Saturday.E

Ludivine, an activist with the Collectif Anti-Fasciste du Bassin Minier, told Euronews that residents in Le Pen’s constituency “firmly stand against the far-right,” and she said, “We are in post-industrial abandoned areas, where unemployment is rising.”E

In parallel, the policy stakes for housing were spelled out by Public Sénat, which said France has “a little over 2.9 million households waiting for social housing,” and it added that “fewer than one in ten applications receive a positive response.”

The Connexion said Le Pen’s speech was the unofficial start of her campaign trail after a quiet August, and it reported polls showing her obtaining between 33% to 35% of the first-round vote regardless of the scenario and other candidates she would face.T