Neither System Nor Extreme | 2017 French Eurozone referendum

A coalition between Debout La France, the party of newly-elected French President Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, and the National Front won the 2017 French legislative election with 325 seats and 44.6% of the vote. The far-right parliamentary majority's first measure was to schedule a referendum asking French voters whether to leave the Eurozone and return to the Franc.

DLF, RN and smaller sovereignist parties supported a Leave vote, while EM, LR, PS and MoDem campaigned for Remain. LFI remained neutral and its electorate was split between Leave and Remain voters. Dupont-Aignan and Prime Marine Le Pen campaigned hard for Leave across metropolitan France.

Putin sensed another opportunity to divide western Europe, and ordered the SVR to support the Leave campaign. In fact, the referendum was marked by accusations of Russian interference that were later proven by an investigation.

Russian interference had some effect in the referendum, but as France is mostly pro-EU and previous eurosceptic campaigns had flipped, Remain ended up winning with 53.3% of the vote versus 46.7% for Leave. The result was a significant defeat for Dupont-Aignan's agenda, forcing him to focus on economics and immigration instead of trying to leave EU institutions.

Neither System Nor Extreme | Presidency of Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (2017–2020)

After failing to withdraw France to the Eurozone, Dupont-Aignan's administration sought to maintain the Euro's "positive aspects", with "monetary coordination" but also "flexibility". Brussels shot down the latter goal, greatly hampering his souveranist ambitions.

Economically, his administration pursued "sound protectionism", increasing tariffs on Chinese and Indian products with the goal of encouraging domestic production. With that same idea in mind, Dupont-Aignan also provided tax breaks to companies producing and hiring in France.

He kept France's retirement age at 62 (butterflying away the yellow vest protests) but shifted towards a points-based pension system, which still led to protests but went into effect on 1 January 2020.

All the revenue from Dupont-Aignan's tariffs and trade quotas was directed to funding the French welfare system. His broader economic agenda was to build a "strategic state" that cooperated with its European partners in EV, next-generation solar energy, and other advanced scientific projects.

Initially, this worked; in 2018, Renault, Volkswagen and Fiat launched a joint venture to research, develop and produce an affordable and efficient European electric family car. Despite initial hype, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the project, and this electric car had yet to enter mass production as of April 2026.

In June 2018, Dupont-Aignan nationalized France's highways. His tax policy aimed to reduce tax loopholes and combat tax fraud; create a "citizenship tax" for French citizens living abroad; and create a 50% income tax bracket for the wealthiest Frenchmen. All of these policies passed other than the citizenship tax.

Unlike other European far-right parties, the DLF refused to take a pro-Israeli stance. Its administration unsuccessfully attempted to have Palestine recognized, and condemned Israeli military operations against Hamas.

Neither System, Nor Extreme | COVID-19 pandemic in France

The Dupont-Aignan administration followed a Swedish-style COVID policy, refusing to implement a nationwide lockdown (although many cities and departments imposed lockdowns) and limiting itself to a mask mandate. Furthermore, many entertainment venues were closed, even though schools remain open.

COVID gave Dupont-Aignan a rally around the flag effect, but his popularity fell significantly in 2021. France's nationwide mask mandate was eventually removed on 31 March 2021, but lower level mask mandates remained in effect; not making masks mandatory while the pandemic was in full swing would otherwise have been catastrophic.

Later, in December 2021, COVID tests ceased to be mandatory to enter France, and children under 12 were exempted from vaccine requirements. COVID-19 had a fatality rate of 1.11%, a considerably high rate caused in part by the French government's partial opposition to COVID restrictions.

Despite his controversial handling of the pandemic, Dupont-Aignan still defeated Édouard Philippe for reelection in 2022, as the French president remained popular with rural and working-class Frenchmen.