Marine Tondelier Calls for Regularizing Working Foreigners and Raising the Minimum Wage to €2,000

The presidential candidate for France's Green party (Les Écologistes), Marine Tondelier, outlined a series of prominent political and social stances during her appearance on the program "Vous êtes présidente" on BFMTV, addressing vital issues affecting daily life in France, migrant affairs, and the labor market.

Regularizing working foreigners and parents of schoolchildren

Regarding immigration and residency, Tondelier adopted a clear stance defending the rights of foreign residents in the country, asserting that "all people who work in France and have children studying in French schools must have their legal status regularized" and be granted residence permits.

The ecologist leader sharply criticized the treatment foreigners receive in France, describing it as "undignified," pointing to the immense administrative hurdles that turn the process of obtaining legal documents into an "extremely arduous and complicated path." Tondelier added that she feels proud to live in a country capable of welcoming people who could lose their lives if they remained in their countries of origin.

Supporting purchasing power and the minimum wage

On the socio-economic front, Tondelier advocated raising the minimum wage (Smic) to €2,000 gross per month, representing an estimated net increase of around €105, arguing that the minimal increases announced by the government do not match the rising cost of living and the deterioration of purchasing power for families and workers.

She also proposed allocating direct aid to micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses (TPEs and PMEs) to enable them to implement these increases, in addition to calling for a mandatory 32-hour workweek for night workers and those in arduous professions, such as nurses and cashiers.

Left-wing alliances and confronting the far right

Politically, Tondelier affirmed her openness to dialogue with all partners across the left, including La France Insoumise and MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, in an effort to build a strong coalition that prevents the left from being eliminated from the second round of the presidential election and averts the rise of the far right, while criticizing the mechanisms of the Fifth Republic that confine political choices every five years.

Addressing the defamation lawsuit that the National Rally (Rassemblement National) intends to file against her over her statements regarding the Trappes attack, Tondelier stated that she is "completely calm" and accustomed to such procedures, warning of the dangers surrounding the escalation of anti-immigrant political rhetoric and its impact on French society.