The livestock was clear: The election victory is by no means a given.

It is time for the French to take right-wing extremism seriously, Macron said on Saturday.

In his almost two-hour speech at the La Defense Arena outside Paris, the current president raised a warning finger.

- Look at Brexit and so many other elections, what looked unthinkable actually became reality, Macron said.

Le Pen is approaching

The biggest threat to the incumbent president, the leader of the right-wing nationalist party National Assembly Marine Le Pen, has recently crept ever closer to Macron's La République en marche in opinion polls.

Macron now leads by six percentage points, 28 percent against second-placed Le Pen 21.5 percent.

The right-wing nationalist presidential candidate Éric Zemmours is in fourth place with 11 percent, just behind the left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon's 15 percent.

"The danger of extremism has reached new depths in recent months and over the years, hatred and alternative truths have been normalized," Macron said in his speech.

"No magic"

The war in Ukraine has overshadowed much of French domestic policy ahead of the election.

Members of Macron's party have expressed concern that the re-election campaign has failed to engage voters.

"There is no magic in this campaign.

No one is enthusiastic, not the French, not political journalists, not even us who work on the campaign.

The war in Ukraine has shut everything down ", a source in the Macron camp is said to have said, according to Reuters.

In his speech, Macron highlighted what he has done so far during his time in power and what he wants to achieve during the next term - to further reduce unemployment and taxes and increase security in the country.

France's presidential election will be decided in two rounds, the first taking place on April 10.

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A Russian bank loan to the party, demands for abolished sanctions against Russia and the dream of a French Putin.

Here is the trio that has been nicknamed "the three Musketeers".

Photo: SVT