France: The winner of the debate is Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron has left behind one of the last hurdles in his re-election race with his militant appearance in the nearly three-hour televised battle with his far-right rival Marine Le Pen, convincing according to a poll that most of those who watched the show he looked arrogant again.

Although Ms. Lepen appeared to be better prepared and more self-controlled than in their previous teleconference in 2017, Mr. Macron pounded her on her relationship with the Russian leadership, on her plans for economy, for its policy towards the European Union …

Four days before the decisive vote, a majority (59%) said Mr Macron was more convincing than Ms Le Pen (39%), according to an Elabe Institute poll on the station. BFMTV in a representative sample of 650 viewers aged 18 and over.

Polls ahead of the April 24 election suggest the outgoing president has widened his lead and is seeking re-election with up to 56% of the vote (up from 44% in Ms Lepen). In 2017, Mr. Macron had prevailed over Mrs. Lepen with 66.1%. Analysts estimate that yesterday’s televised debate is unlikely to change the voting intentions of a percentage capable of overturning this picture.

“Yes, Emanuel Macron won, but his opponent avoided repeating the disaster of the previous time,” said diplomat Gerard Arro via Twitter. Yesterday’s televised debate did not put her out of the race, “as in 2017”, but “did not help her close the gap” in the dispute, added the former French ambassador to Israel, the US and the UN.

In the attack for most of the discussion, the president placed particular emphasis on the loan that Ms. Le Pen’s party had received for its 2017 election campaign from a Russian bank. “The problem is that when you talk about Russia, you are talking about your banker,” he said. “You are dependent on Russian power, you are dependent on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”

On the issue of the cost of living, which is of particular concern to voters, Mr Macron also attacked his opponent, asking him why he voted against his proposal to set a price ceiling on electricity, as he claims he wants to help workers and citizens. with the lowest incomes in France.

However, the French president did not manage to avoid giving a sometimes arrogant and arrogant image, according to the characterizations that several critics accuse him of. He repeatedly interrupted his opponent with exhortations such as “do not mix it all up”, or remarks such as “Mrs. Lepen is much more disciplined than she was five years ago”. “Mr Macron, stop lecturing me”, was the reaction of the far-right candidate, who, however, had a much milder tone than before, to the point of praising the French president for his diplomatic initiatives to prevent the war in Ukraine.

“Arrogant” vs. “scary”

However, she criticized her opponent, who ironically described her as “Mozart of finance” for his “bad financial report” and “even worse social report”.

He accused her of pushing France into a “civil war” by proposing a ban on the Islamic headscarf in public.

Elabe’s poll showed that 50% of viewers thought that Mr. Macron did look arrogant, while only 16% made this judgment about Ms. Lepen. The far-right candidate also seemed to focus more on the concerns of citizens (37%) than the head of state (34%).

“I am not a climate skeptic, but you are a bit of a climate hypocrite,” she said.

The two opponents have a “great weakness”, estimates Elabe’s Bernard Sanan: “he is considered arrogant over one in two viewers, the one scary by half”.

Source: AMPE