Far-right challenger out to avoid repeat of 2017 ‘failure’ in two-and-a-half hour clash with incumbent
“The debate was a failure for which I paid a very heavy price,” Le Pen admitted last month, vowing not to make the same mistakes twice. One of her closest advisers, Philippe Olivier, said she had been “preparing for this moment for five years”.
“He can’t come across as too technical, too professorial,” said one Macron aide. “Her whole thing is about being on the side of the people; he can’t be dismissive. But he has explain the problems, the inconsistencies, the impossibilities of her programme. It’s a difficult balancing act.” But Macron faces a rival who has lost momentum as her France-first manifesto – which includes enshrining a “national preference” for jobs, housing and welfare and declaring the primacy of French legislation over international law, bringingMacron can also point to an unemployment rate at a 13-year low and an economy that has outperformed those of other major European countries, and he is likely to confront Le Pen over her past admiration for Vladimir Putin and her plan to ban wearing the hijab...
“Fear is the only argument the current president has to try to stay in power at all costs,” the National Rally leader said in a campaign clip this week, accusing Macron of doom-mongering over a far-right presidency.The debate, due to start at 9pm local time, will be broadcast live on the two main French public and private TV channels as well as the 24-hour news stations. It is likely to attract an audience of millions – the 2017 clash was watched by 16.