Macron and Le Pen step up French media war ahead of great debate
Incumbent French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right hopeful Marine Le Pen have spent this week duelling at a distance, ramping up their travels and media interviews in a bid to win over voters ahead of the 24 April election runoff. They're also setting the scene for their first and only face-to-face debate on Wednesday.
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The latest opinion polls have Macron in front in the second round with an estimated score of 54 percent compared to Le Pen's 46 percent.
Both candidates have been busy this week, with Macron travelling to the northern town of Le Havre on Thursday, while Le Pen headed down south to Avignon. Then there were their countless television and radio interviews.
A pivotal moment in the final phase of the campaign will come on 20 April when the two meet for their only live debate of the campaign, to be broadcast live on French television.
Student blockade
In the middle of a hectic week, the candidates were asked about their reactions to the student protests and blockades at La Sorbonne University in Paris and elsewhere, after demonstrators denounced what they described as a "fake choice" in the runoff vote.
"I think that democracy is made up of rules. If we start protesting against all the rules, then it becomes anarchy," Macron told France Info.
Le Pen was far more scathing in her reaction, asking "did they skip the course on democracy?"
Describing them as "petits jeunes", ("little people"), Le Pen suggested they encourage people to get out and vote rather than protesting.
"They should respect democracy rather than opposing the wishes expressed by the French people," she said.
Hot topics
An opinion poll registered between 6 and 9 April by Ipsos-Sopra Steria found that spending power, immigration, health, environment and pensions were at the top of the list.
But several other issues have emerged over the past few days, indicating the candidates must work much harder to convince the public, in particular those who voted for left-wing Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round.
The Islamic veil
"Banning the veil is not urgent but it is essential," Marine Le Pen told BFM TV on Friday morning, explaining that she would ban women from wearing the veil in public in order to "uphold fundamental principals".
Macron told France Info on Friday that he was not "obsessed" about the question of the veil but that he had been clear all along.
"Secular society means the possibility to believe in something or not. I have defended this since 2017, I haven't changed the rules".
"During my mandate I have always made sure our fellow citizens of Islamic faith can live in peace".
Executive pay
Macron told France Info radio that he was in favour of an EU-wide ceiling for top executives' pay.
His comments come after it was revealed that the pay packet for Carlos Tavares, the chief executive of carmaker Stellantis, was €19 million last year, when French carmaker PSA merged with Italian-US rival Fiat Chrysler.
"We need to set ceilings and have governance for Europe that make these things acceptable. If not, society will explode at any given moment," Macron said.
"People can't be facing purchasing power problems ... and then see these sorts of sums."
Le Pen has also been drawn into the debate. "It's shocking, but less shocking than for others," she said, adding: "For once he obtained good results."
Upping the stakes
In any case, the intensity of the campaign trail is reflecting tensions over what is expected to be an extremely tight race on 24 April.
Speaking to supporters in Avignon, Le Pen urged France to block a new five-year term for Macron, to halt "social desolation and national deconstruction" and put an end to "this caste which governs us with arrogance, these few who rule for the benefit of the few".
"On April 24, the popular bloc will come face-to-face with the elitist bloc," she said. "It will be a showdown between the people and the oligarchy."
Le Pen's comments came after Macron received a boost when his predecessor, Socialist President Francois Hollande, urged the French to back the incumbent in round two, arguing Le Pen "was putting French principles into doubt".
"In an election of this importance, what matters is France. That's why I'm calling on French citizens, in light of the stakes, to vote for Emmanuel Macron," he told TF1 television.
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