PARIS (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron blasted his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen in a televised debate on Wednesday over her ties to Russia and for wanting to deprive Muslim women of their right to cover their heads in public, as he did seeks attacked votes he needs to win another 5-year term.
In their only head-to-head confrontation before voters get their say in Sunday’s pick of the winner, Macron pulled off his gloves, arguing that his rival was unfit to lead the nuclear-armed and ethnically diverse European power and cope with them Moscow. He tried to portray Le Pen as fundamentally untrustworthy, accusing her of dishonesty and using false numbers in her campaign promises.
He also said plans by the anti-immigration candidate to ban Muslim women from wearing headscarves in public would spark a “civil war” in the country with the largest Muslim population in western Europe.
Le Pen, in turn, was trying to appeal to voters grappling with rising prices in the aftermath of the Russian war in Ukraine. She said lowering the cost of living would be her priority if elected France’s first female president and portrayed herself as a candidate for voters unable to make ends meet.
She said Macron’s presidency left the country deeply divided, and she repeatedly referred to the so-called “yellow vest” protest movement that rocked his government with months of violent demonstrations against his economic policies ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“France needs to be sewn back together,” she said.
The debate highlighted the yawning gulf in politics and character between the two candidates, who were once again vying for the presidency five years after Macron easily defeated Le Pen in 2017.
Polls suggest Macron, a pro-European centrist, has a growing and clear lead over the anti-immigration nationalist ahead of Sunday’s vote. But the result is expected to be closer than five years ago, and both candidates are fighting for votes from voters who did not support them in the first round of the April 10 election.
“I’m not like you,” Le Pen said as they squabbled over France’s energy needs.
“You’re not like me,” Macron said. “Thanks for the reminder.”
The French head of state criticized a loan that the Le Pen party had taken out with a Russian-Czech bank in 2014. He said debt meant that if Le Pen were elected president, his hands would be tied when it came to the Kremlin.
“You talk to your banker when you talk about Russia, that’s the problem,” Macron demanded in the evening’s prime-time debate, which was expected by millions of viewers.
“You have made a decision that has obviously limited your political position and does not make you independent on this issue. That’s a fact,” Macron said.
Le Pen balked at Macron’s suggestion that she was indebted to Russia. She described herself as “completely free”. She said her party is repaying the loan and called him “dishonest” for raising the issue.
Just hours before Wednesday’s debate, jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny had entered the French presidential campaign, urging voters to support Macron and claiming Le Pen was too closely linked to Russia.
Macron emerged from the first round on April 10th. But Le Pen, which has gained ground this year by tapping into inflationary anger, has narrowed the gap in public support significantly compared to 2017, when she lost 34% of the vote to Macron’s 66% .
Both candidates had carefully prepared for Wednesday’s debate. But Le Pen got off to an unfavorable start: after being chosen to speak first, she began speaking before the debate’s opening jingle was over. Inaudible because of the music, she had to stop and start again. She apologized.
When the tournaments started, Macron quickly put Le Pen on the defensive. He focused on her voting records as a legislature and questioned her understanding of economic numbers.
In 2017, a similar debate dealt a decisive blow to her campaign.
Both candidates must expand support ahead of Sunday’s vote. Many French people, especially those on the left, say they don’t yet know if they will vote at all.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the French election at https://apnews.com/hub/french-election-2022