Factbox-French conservative candidate Pecresse's policy proposals

[January 10, 2022]  PARIS (Reuters) - Valerie Pecresse, the presidential candidate for the conservative Les Republicains party, has emerged as one of Emmanuel Macron's most serious challengers in April's election.

Here are her main policy proposals:

IMMIGRATION/ASYLUM:

- Immigration quotas per country and per type of job

- No automatic right to French citizenship for those born in France of foreign parents

- Asylum demands should be made only at French embassies abroad or at the border

SECURITY:

- Stiffen judicial sentences in tough neighbourhoods where police are under pressure

- Cut red tape in the judicial system; build more prisons

ISLAM:

- Ban women accompanying their children on school trips from wearing a Muslim headscarf

- Close down any mosque whose preacher is hostile to France

- Make radicalisation a firing offence from any job
 

ECONOMY:

- End the 35-hour work week, giving workers the right to negotiate working hours

- Raise the retirement age to 65 from 62

- Cut 150,000 public sector jobs by slashing 200,000 jobs and hiring 50,000 people in health, security and education; reduce unemployment benefits

Valerie Pecresse, head of the Paris Ile-de-France region and Les Republicains (LR) right-wing party candidate for the 2022 French presidential election, attends an interview with Reuters at her campaign headquarters in Paris, France, January 7, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

- Sell the state's minority stakes in private companies

- Bring debt down to 100% of GDP by 2027 from an estimated 115.6% in 2021

EDUCATION/FAMILY:

- Step up sanctions for insulting or assaulting a teacher; give more autonomy to headmasters

- Give family allowances to all parents, independently of income

- Increase the threshold for tax-free donations to children and grandchildren

FOREIGN POLICY:

- "Constructive dialogue" with the United States

- "Strategic and firm dialogue" with China and Russia;

- Hire more border guards for the EU's Frontext border agency

- Pro-EU but would reserve the right to stop EU case law from infringing on France's values

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY:

- Back plans for a European carbon tax at the EU's borders

- Build at least six new nuclear reactors to help meet greenhouse emission targets

(Compiled by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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