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Macron seen winning French TV debate, clashes with Le Pen
Two of the candidates for the French presidency, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, clashed spectacularly in the campaign's first televised debate between leading candidates on Monday night
Left to right: Les Republicains’ party François Fillon, Emmanuel Macron of En Marche!, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Marine Le Pen, and Socialist Benoît Hamon
Centrist Emmanuel Macron solidified his status as frontrunner in France's presidential election on Monday in a televised debate during which he clashed on immigration and Europe with his main rival, far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
The three-and-a-half-hour live debate between the top five candidates saw Le Pen and Macron repeatedly exchange verbal blows.
At the start of the debate, Macron, the 39-year-old former economy minister who has never run for election before, seemed subdued, perhaps more used to making speeches alone on stage than debating rivals.
However, Le Pen accused him of being in favour of the burkini, a full-body swimsuit worn by Muslim women that created weeks of controversy in France last summer when some mayors banned it from beaches, causing Macron to rebut strongly.
“You are lying by twisting the truth,” he said, accusing her of “dividing” society and making enemies of Muslims in France.
Later, Le Pen attacked Macron for being a former investment banker, then again on foreign policy, shouting over him: “What you’re saying means nothing. We don’t understand any of it.”
Le Pen’s main challenge was to appear credible on economic policy, but she stressed security and immigration issues. “I want to put an end to immigration – that’s clear,” she announced, before talking about a rise of Islamic fundamentalism in France and saying the security situation in France was “explosive”.
Yet, a snap opinion poll showed Macron was seen as the most convincing among the top five contenders. 29% of viewers thought Macron was the most convincing, ahead of firebrand leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon with 20%, while Le Pen and conservative Francois Fillon were tied in third place, a snap survey conducted online by Elabe pollsters towards the end of the debate showed. Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon came in last.
Opinion polls have for weeks shown Le Pen and Macron pulling away from the pack in an election full of twists and turns which is taking place against a backdrop of high unemployment and sluggish growth.
The debate, and the two others that will follow ahead of the 23 April first round, are seen as key in an election in which nearly 40% of voters say they are not sure who to back.
