"In a debate with twelve candidates, you have equal speaking time, so you would have 1 hour 50 minutes for the president to be interpellated and 10 minutes for the president to answer. This means that he would not even have the possibility of answering. to the questions that would be asked of him", argued Mr. Attal on France Inter.

"So it wouldn't be a debate, it would be spectacle, buzz, a rat race", he added, specifying that "never has an outgoing president who was representing himself debated with the candidates for the first tower".

President candidate Emmanuel Macron confirmed Monday in Poissy that he "would not debate with the other candidates before the first round".

“No sitting president who is standing for re-election has done so,” he said.

"Emmanuel Macron likes debate, he seeks debate, he seeks the confrontation of ideas", assured Mr. Attal, insisting: "there will be debate with the French, there will be debate with journalists, maybe -be with policies", even if "I do not know what programs will be offered by the channels".

In 2017, for the first time in a presidential election, a debate between the eleven candidates was organized on BFMTV and Cnews before the first round, but President François Hollande did not represent himself.

Another debate with the five main candidates (François Fillon, Benoît Hamon, Marine Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron and Jean-Luc Mélenchon) also took place on TF1, LCI and France 24.

"I think it's a bit of a way to escape, but he found the argument to say the others didn't do it", regretted Eric Zemmour on BFMTV on Tuesday.

"I regret that there is no debate but it's not just him, Ms. Le Pen refuses any debate, Ms. Pécresse, it's been three months, she ended up accepting a debate (Thursday). But the fundamental debate will be the second round debate between Emmanuel Macron and me,” added the far-right candidate.

"Not only does Emmanuel Macron refuse to debate against the other candidates, but in addition his + debates + with the French are exchanges carefully prepared in advance. Our democracy deserves real debates, enough of the Macronist staging!" Criticized on Twitter RN candidate Marine Le Pen.

"I regret it," reacted LO candidate Nathalie Arthaud on Tuesday on Public Senate.

"Anyway it's an electoral circus. I can tell you that there is no equality, it's like in society: there are those who are at the top and those who are at the bottom, there are big candidates and small candidates, it really is a complete reflection of the way our whole society works“, she lamented.

© 2022 AFP