A television set has acted as a prelude to the duel that will face Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen next Sunday in the second round of the presidential elections in France.

The confrontation before the cameras this Wednesday was key, since it determined the real possibilities of the far-right Le Pen to beat Macron, a favorite in the polls and who, in addition, has been gaining ground these days.

Macron, on the left of the set, and superior in the debate, overcame Marine Le Pen, on the right and the first to speak.

Both in the economic sphere and in foreign policy.

The re-election candidate has accused Le Pen of financing her party with Russian money and of wanting to leave the EU.

“I am not going to Russia to ask for loans,” Macron criticized.

"We are a poor party but that is not something dishonorable," defended Le Pen, who has been against European sanctions on gas and oil from Moscow because, he says, they harm the French.

After an atypical electoral campaign, the candidates have really talked about programs, about proposals for France.

They confronted their different visions of France and Europe.

The loss of purchasing power has been the first topic of debate.

It is, in fact, the first concern for the French, according to a study by Ipsos/Sopra Steria published two days ago, Macron is better prepared for economic issues, but she gives more guarantees for issues such as pensions or purchasing power, the pocket , definitely.

"Purchasing power will be the priority of my mandate," said Le Pen, who also noted that he will lower taxes on energy.

Crisis

The candidate for re-election had an easier time defending the balance of a crisis-proof mandate (yellow vests, pandemic and war in Ukraine).

Macron already disarmed her in the debate prior to the 2017 elections and, this time, she had cleared events from the agenda in the last few hours to be able to devote herself to preparation.

Politics is the art of choosing.

I will be the president of collective protection, of freedom, of security, the president of purchasing power, ”claimed the candidate for National Regrouping.

In this case, Le Pen was forced to attack, starting with a disadvantage in the polls, and it was enough for the president to defend himself well, but a bad debate would penalize the candidate for re-election and could further lower the tight margin he has for the Sunday, greater than five years ago.

The latest poll by Ipsos-Sopra Steria for France Info and Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui gives Macron 56.5% of support compared to 43.5% for his rival.

The rallies are played at home, with a sympathetic public, but a face-to-face meeting in front of millions of spectators is a more hostile event for both, and more decisive, because the objective was to capture the vote of the French who had not voted for them in the first return, especially those of Jean-Luc Mélechon, candidate of France Unsoumisa, who got 20% support.

These supports are the most disputed in these elections and in these two weeks between the votes, both have tried to get close to this electorate.

Emmanuel Macron has winked at environmentalists and has tried to give a softer and less haughty image.

Le Pen, for his part, has made some lurches, especially as regards his rapprochement with Vladimir Putin.

Russia

"Russia has chosen a path that is disastrous," insisted Emmanuel Macron, who opted for "a strong Europe and France."

“We must make France and Europe a balancing force.

His project, although he does not say so, is to leave the EU," Emmanuel Macron criticized the far-right candidate.

Le Pen defended herself from criticism about her close sensitivity to Putin, she also supported the sanctions on Russia, except for the blockade of Russian oil, considering that it harms the French people.

“It is the only limit that I have expressed,” said the candidate, who fears that “China will get closer to Russia.”

She even produced a piece of paper to justify that her party supports "a free Ukraine as well as an Iraq".

"What I don't want is for there to be a rapprochement with China, for them to become allies.

To govern is to foresee the dangers of the future.

I fear that both countries will become a military and economic power and that they could be a greater danger for France and Europe," Le Pen said.

The Ukrainian president himself, Volodomir Zelensky, said yesterday that he would not consider Le Pen an interlocutor if he wins.

"If the candidate understands that she was wrong, our relationship could change," he said in an interview that she will air today on BFMTV, hours before the debate.

Economy

The economic issue was very present.

Throughout the campaign, she has emerged as the defender of the purchasing power of the French, committed to protectionism and to achieving food and energy dependence.

Macron, for his part, defends that money does not come from under the stones and that the welfare system must be financed.

He therefore plans to delay the retirement age to 65, instead of the current 62, although in recent days he has backtracked.

She wants to keep it at 62 years old and wants to remove the VAT on basic necessities.

"We have to reindustrialize our companies," she defended.

Throughout this campaign, Le Pen has played the card of the anti-Macron referendum, trying to attract to her ground all those who detest the president and prefer to see her in the Elysée in order not to have him.

When asked if France wants to continue with Germany as a European axis, Emmanuel Macron said that he believes "in Europe and in the Franco-German axis."

Le Pen insisted on his idea of ​​"deeply" reforming the EU to turn it into an alliance of nations.

He accused the European Commission of meddling in the national decisions of its members and of "the multiplication of international free trade treaties."

She said that there is a "French sovereignty that cannot be replaced by the European one."

"You don't have the image of a global France," Le Pen said.

Macron replied: "For how great you see France, what you want is to enclose it within its own borders."

With the debate, it remains to be seen how many undecided candidates the candidates will have convinced.

On Sunday, the answer.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

  • France

  • Emmanuel Macron

  • Russia

  • Europe

  • Marine LePen

  • Ukraine

  • China

  • Petroleum

  • Iraq

  • Germany

  • Vladimir Putin

  • yellow vests