French presidential candidates Macron and Le Pen fierce debate on Russia – EU

The debate on April 20 between incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and far-right rival Marine Le Pen – the only debate between the two candidates on the campaign trail – was filled with calls to “don’t interrupt me” and accusations that one was unfit for the job of leading France, one member UN Security Council member with veto power and Europe’s second largest economy.

“Stop messing around,” Macron told Le Pen as he argued fiercely about France’s debt, which has increased due to measures to support the pandemic. Le Pen replied: “Don’t preach to me.”

For Ms Le Pen, who trails Mr Macron in the polls by 56-44%, the debate is an opportunity to convince voters that she has the stature to be president and that they should not be afraid when the far right is in power.

A quick poll conducted for the BFM TV channel showed that 59% of respondents think Mr Macron is more convincing than Ms Le Pen, however, it is not clear whether these people will vote for the incumbent president in the election. French presidential election the second round on April 24 or not.

Macron’s strongest attacks were about a loan from Le Pen’s party during the 2017 election campaign signed through a Russian bank.

“She depends on Russia’s power, depends on you Putin” – Mr. Macron told his opponent. “Many of her choices can be explained by this dependence.” from the European Union EU consists of 27 member countries.

Meanwhile, far-right candidate Le Pen has denied even the allegation of wanting to leave EU and politically damaged by a Russian bank loan. “I am a completely free and independent woman,” she said.

With unemployment at a 13-year low, President Macron said he was proud of the job creation during his term, adding: “The best way to achieve purchasing power is to fight unemployment.” .

The two candidates repeatedly accused each other of failing to respond to voters’ real concerns. Ms Le Pen said that “in real life” her proposals would improve voters’ situation much more than her opponents’.

“I will give absolute priority over the next five years to returning the money to the French,” Le Pen said, adding that the French had “suffered” during Macron’s term.

The election presented voters with two opposing visions of France: Mr. Macron offered a liberal, pro-European platform, while Ms Le Pen’s nationalist manifesto was built on a political theme. profound European skepticism.

Much bargaining took place backstage before the debate, from the temperature of the auditorium to the tossing of a coin to deciding on which topic they would start – the cost of living – and who would speak. prior to.

With both candidates dismissing their opponents’ plans as unrealistic but failing to score any clear knock-outs, the debate may not have a clear impact on voters.

Only 14% of voters wait for the debate to decide who to vote for, while 12% say it will decide whether or not they vote – an OpinionWay-Kea Partners poll for the newspaper Les Echos shows.

That said, after more than half of voters voted for far-right or far-left candidates in the first round on April 10, the lead in opinion polls was President Emmanuel Macron was much narrower than it was five years ago, when he beat Ms Le Pen with 66.1% of the vote. Since then, Le Pen has been at least partially successful in attracting mainstream voters.