Europe, environment, Ukraine, immigration… Many are the issues on which Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen have distant, even opposing programs. And in those two weeks between the two rounds, the two qualifiers for the second round of the presidential election have never stopped nurturing their differences.
During the many journeys they made, they fought from afar, criticizing one or the other’s proposals, sometimes on purchasing power, sometimes on wearing the veil, sometimes on retirement. On Wednesday evening, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen faced each other even more than 2:30 a.m. during the debate between the two rounds.
Le Parisien has listed what the two finalists offer on various everyday topics.
RSA
The split between the two finalists is clear on social benefits, particularly on RSA (Active Solidarity Income), which reveals two doctrines. Emmanuel Macron conditions him to take active steps in finding a job, Marine Le Pen to French citizenship, as she does for family allowances.
euthanasia
This is a societal question that regularly comes to the fore: What end of life do we offer? When the RN candidate has completely closed the door on euthanasia and assisted suicide, the outgoing president takes refuge behind a desire to start a citizens’ congress on the subject.
immigration
Marine Le Pen has put it bluntly: she wants to end – or at least severely limit – family reunification, which she sees as one of the “main causes of mass immigration”. For his part, Emmanuel Macron proposes better control of immigration by strengthening European and national borders.
Wearing the veil
This is a topic that came up several times during the intermediate rounds. And this is one of the distinguishing features between the two candidates. Marine Le Pen wants to ban the veil in public spaces, Emmanuel Macron does not.
Abitur
If they have somewhat similar ideas when it comes to education, such as the early orientation of students, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen face each other when they graduate from high school. The second wants to reverse the reform initiated by the first by returning to the traditional sectors (S, ES and L).
Schengen and Europe
Marine Le Pen wants to renegotiate the Schengen agreements to reintroduce border controls and at the same time provide for “simplified border crossing procedures for citizens of EU countries”. Emmanuel Macron proposes better control of the borders without touching Schengen.
The purchasing power
Purchasing power is undoubtedly one of the issues that Marine Le Pen focused on most during the campaign between the two rounds of voting. VAT is at the center of the debates. The RN candidate wants to schedule it (or even forgo certain basic needs under certain conditions), but it’s out of the question for Emmanuel Macron, who prefers a freeze on electricity and gas prices and a grocery check.
wind turbines
Should wind turbines be destroyed or, on the contrary, should more be built? On this issue, the strategies of the two qualified candidates for the second round of the presidential election are completely different. Marine Le Pen opts for a phased dismantling of all assets, while Emmanuel Macron plans to build 50 offshore wind farms and double onshore wind energy capacity.
energy
In addition to the topic of wind power, France’s energy future was mainly brought to the countryside by the war in Ukraine and dependence on Russian gas. Nuclear power, European electricity market, sobriety… The two who qualified for the second round of the presidential election have very different visions.
Pensioner
The theme is inevitably the focus of the campaign. The presidential candidate wants to gradually raise the retirement age to 64 or 65 and make sure between rounds he’s ready to “tackle” the reform he wants to see. Rather, the RN candidate plays the status quo at 62, opening up retirement at 60 for those who started working before age 20. what already exists.
This Sunday, two very different visions will compete against each other in the elections. “This election is a referendum for or against the European Union, for or against ecology, for or against what we do deeply,” Emmanuel Macron had summed up at the end of the debate between the two rounds, while Marine Le Pen judged on Friday that the choice was easy: “It’s Macron or France”.