Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen have intensified their campaigning with a hectic schedule of last-minute visits to attract rotating voters as France’s hotly contested presidential race enters its final hours.
While voting takes place on Sunday, French electoral rules require all election campaigns and opinion polls to end at midnight on Friday, and on Thursday the two candidates rushed to squeeze onto the streets in time.
Le Pen traveled to Arras, her northern stronghold, for a rally, while Macron entered more hostile territory in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, where radical left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon received more than 60% of the vote just under two weeks ago .
On Wednesday night, the two candidates took part in a nearly three-hour debate that Macron narrowly emerged victorious from, but which was also seen as unlikely to have changed many voters’ intentions, with the president being accused of arrogance and Le Pen’s lack of credibility being accused potential leader.
At the rally, Le Pen returned to last night’s duel and criticized her rival. “I had an Emmanuel Macron in front of me who was very self-confident, very contemptuous, very arrogant, also in his attitude,” she said, “I don’t think that surprised anyone in France.”
The far-right candidate said Macron’s re-election will bring “social devastation”. “He’s not going to be constrained by anything anymore…it would be even worse than the first mandate,” she said. “I’ll explain it to you [the French] that another choice is possible. They must vote by listening to their reason and their heart.”
Marine Le Pen poses for a photo at a truck stop restaurant in Roye. Photo: Alain Robert/SIPA/Rex/ShutterstockMacron was welcomed by Saint-Denis socialist mayor Mathieu Hanotin, who, unlike others on the left, urged voters to back Macron on Sunday.
The President denied Le Pen’s allegations. “When you have no more arguments to counter [the issues] You have to look for something else,” he said.
Macron said the debate was “respectful” but “Madame says a lot of bizarre things, between us.”
He added: “I think things are clear for people now. There is a project to strengthen Europe… and a project to end Europe.”
Le Pen’s program was “imprecise,” he said, and he asked how she planned to fund it.
“Our compatriots will make their decision on Sunday. Nothing is decided until the last minute,” he said.
Macron pledged more investment in slums like Saint-Denis, including more funding for schools and helping disadvantaged young people find jobs.
Hanotin said a Le Pen victory on Sunday would be a “disaster” for poor and socially diverse areas like Saint-Denis. “We need to focus on how to mobilize next Sunday to elect the Republic. For this reason, despite our differences, I supported Mr. Macron.”
The debate is shown on a screen in a bar in Paris. Photo: AFP/Getty ImagesThe marathon duel between the two candidates on Wednesday was seen as a key moment before Sunday’s vote. It was a repeat of the 2017 TV debate in which the far-right leader turned aggressive. This time, Le Pen remained calm, although she still occasionally fidgeted. Le Monde likened Macron to a giant snake slowly crushing its rival to death.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said it had been a satisfactory debate overall. “Even if the presidential campaign itself was disappointing, here we saw a choice between two types of France, two different visions,” he told Radio Europe 1.
Jordan Bardella, leader of Le Pen’s National Rally, accused Macron of being the “No. 1 public insult thrower”, adding: “When he insults Marine Le Pen, as his supporters do, he is really insulting the French. “
Europe Minister Clément Beaune accused Le Pen of secretly organizing a Frexit. “On that subject, it was clear that Marine Le Pen had no project and that she had just cut her Frexit into smaller pieces,” he said.
Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said Le Pen had “changed her style but not the substance”. He accused her of wanting to “divide the French” and repeated Macron’s charge that her proposed ban on the Islamic headscarf in public places would spark a “civil war” in the city’s suburbs.
About 15.6 million people watched the debate, down from 16.6 million in 2017. The figure does not include online viewers.
Pollsters Elabe polled viewers after the debate, explaining that 59% found Macron more compelling, compared with 39% for Le Pen. Among supporters of Mélenchon, whose 7.7 million voters are hunting the remaining two candidates, the poll found that 61% believed Macron to be persuasive, versus 36% for Le Pen. Only 29% of respondents thought the far-right leader had “the qualities needed to be president.”
Macron was seen as more dynamic, slightly more sincere and with a better agenda than Le Pen. Half judged Macron as more arrogant than his rival, while around half rated Le Pen as “concerning”.
Le Monde concluded that the debate was another failure for Le Pen. “Has she given the impression that she is ready to govern?” asked Le Parisien in an editorial. “That’s the only question that matters. Judging by the debate, it hasn’t dispelled the doubts.” Le Figaro said the debate hadn’t changed voters’ intentions.
A post-debate poll by Opinonway showed Macron could win Sunday’s vote by 56% to 44%, a wider margin than forecast before the clash.