Le Pen sought to appeal to voters struggling with rising prices amid the fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Le Pen sought to appeal to voters struggling with rising prices amid the fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron in a televised debate on Wednesday rebuked his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen for his ties with Russia and for stripping Muslim women of their right to cover their heads in public because They want the votes they need to win. Another 5 year term.
In his only one-on-one confrontation before voters had a say in Sunday’s winner-take-all vote, Macron took off the gloves, arguing that his rival would want to lead a nuclear-armed and ethnically diverse European power and Unsuitable for bargaining. Moscow. He sought to portray Le Pen as fundamentally unreliable, accusing him of dishonesty and using flawed figures in his election promises.
He also said the anti-immigration candidate’s plan to ban Muslim women from wearing head scarves in public would trigger a “civil war” in the country, which has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe.
In return, Le Pen sought to appeal to voters struggling with rising prices amid the fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine. She added that reducing the cost of living would be her priority if France’s first woman is elected as president, who are unable to portray herself as a candidate for voters.
She said Macron’s presidency had left the country deeply divided and repeatedly referred to the so-called “yellow vest” protest movement, which preceded the COVID-19 pandemic, with months of violent demonstrations against his economic policies. His government was shaken.
“France needs to be stitched back together,” she said.
Five years after Macron easily defeated Le Pen in 2017, the debate turned home to politics and the yawning gap between the two candidates vying for the presidency again.
Polls show that ahead of Sunday’s vote, pro-European centrist Macron has a growing and significant edge over the anti-immigration nationalist. But results are expected closer to five years earlier and both candidates are up for votes among voters who did not support them in the first round of elections on April 10.
“I’m not like you,” said Le Pen, struggling about France’s energy needs.
“You’re not like me,” said Macron. “Thanks for the reminder.”
French leaders were particularly harsh in their criticism of a loan taken from a Russian-Czech bank by Le Pen’s party in 2014. He said the debt meant that, if elected president, Le Pen would have his hands tied when dealing with the Kremlin.
“When you’re talking about Russia you’re talking to your banker, that’s the problem,” Macron alleged in the evening’s primetime debate, which was expected to be watched by millions.
“You made a choice which, frankly, acts as a constraint on your political position and does not make you independent on that issue. It is a fact,” Macron said.
Le Pen reacted sharply to Macron’s suggestion that he was grateful to Russia. He described himself as “completely free”. He said his party was repaying the loan and called him “dishonest” for raising the issue.
Hours before Wednesday’s debate, imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny stepped up the French presidential campaign, urging voters to support Macron and alleging that Le Pen is too closely linked to Russia.
Macron went ahead with the first round on April 10. But Le Pen, who has gained ground this year by harnessing anger over inflation, has narrowed the gap in public support significantly compared to 2017, when he lost to Macron with 34% of the vote, 66% of the vote. .
Both the candidates had carefully prepared for Wednesday’s debate. But Le Pen got off to an inauspicious start: After being chosen to speak first, he began speaking before the debate’s opening jingle was over. Inaudible due to music, he had to stop and start again. He apologized.
Once the exit began, Macron quickly put Le Pen on the defensive. He noted his voting record as an MLA and questioned his understanding of economic data.
In 2017, a similar debate dealt a decisive blow to his campaign.
Both candidates need to extend support ahead of Sunday’s voting. Many French, especially those on the left, say they still do not know whether they will even go to the polls.