This paper explores the populist stance on public procurement policies and how populist parties exert influence on public procurement. The assessment of this influence is grounded in an original analysis of media reporting, and parliamentary questions posed by right- and left-wing populists in France and Germany. Despite the financial significance of procurement and its potential to bolster and protect national economies, the study reveals a relatively low level of salience. There is limited evidence supporting the assumption that populists actively push for more ‘economic nationalism’. Rather they mainly criticise perceived corrupt elites, reflecting a consistent trend of anti-establishment contestation across both semi-presidential and parliamentary systems. Where such advocacy occurs, ‘cultural’ and ‘economic nationalist’ positions prevail across both right- and left-wing populists. Theoretically, these findings contribute novel insights into the link between thin-populist and thick-host ideologies.