Macron vs. Le Pen in the big debate before Sunday’s election

LAST UPDATE 23.00

French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen clashed Wednesday night in their only debate ahead of Sunday’s presidential election. The election presents voters with two opposing visions for France: Macron offers a pro-European, liberal platform, while Le Pen’s nationalist manifesto is based on deep Euroscepticism. Many bargains took place in the backstage before the debate, from room temperature to coin tossing to decide what to start with – the cost of living – to who will speak first – Lepen.

Emanuel Macron and Marin Lepen crossed swords over financial issues during the first part of their televised duel.

“For the last five years I have seen (the French people) suffering, worried and I want to say that another choice is possible,” Le Pen said at the beginning of the debate. “I will be the president of the cost of living … I will be the president of Justice there, I will be the president of the national brotherhood there.”

In his opening remarks, Macron said that if re-elected, he would strive to make France “more independent and stronger … we can improve daily life”.

On the issue of French purchasing power, Emanuel Macron, after pointing out that “we are living in unprecedented crises”, acknowledged that the French are having a hard time coping and promised a ceiling on energy prices. He stressed that he achieved a reduction in unemployment by creating 1.2 million jobs during his term and pledged that he would enable companies “doing well” to give tax-free premiums to employees.

Marin Le Pen said that during Macron’s term he saw the French people suffering. He promised to be the president who would offer him protection, freedom, justice and security. He said he would strengthen the purchasing power of the French by avoiding the tax burden on fuel. He also said that he would proceed with tax cuts, give increases and strengthen single-parent families. “I will give the money back to the French,” Le Pen said.

Le Pen said that if she is elected president on Sunday, her government will give a permanent boost to salaries and not to one-off grants. “In real life, when you ask a bank for a loan, they ask about your salary, they laugh at your grants. I suggest that salaries be increased,” Le Pen said. “All you do is hand out checks … my priority is to give the French back their money,” he said. To offset inflation, the French government decided last year to give low-income households an “inflation premium” of 100 euros to mitigate the effects of rising energy prices and higher living costs.

“I have seen people suffer, I have seen them worry, they are worried about a deterioration in their quality of life, a kind of insecurity that they feel is widespread,” Le Pen said. “I would like to tell them that another choice is possible, based on respect, based on common sense,” he added. “All you do is hand out checks … my priority is to give the French back their money.”

For his part, Macron said: “I do not want people who listen to us to believe that their wages will increase by 10%. I have studied your program. There is not even the word unemployment.”