French President Emmanuel Macron warned of the risk of a Brexit-style election upset in his only campaign rally before the first round of the presidential election, in a bid to convince dispirited voters and re-energise a lacklustre campaign.
A week or so before the April 10 vote, Macron finds himself on the defensive, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen staging a comeback in the polls and the race tightening between the two frontrunners for the crucial April 24 runoff.
Although he is still projected to win a second mandate, Macron has lost ground in the polls, a dip that some aides attribute to a manifesto that includes tough, conservative measures such as raising the state pension age to 65.
However, he stayed true to his reformist programme, saying the French will have to work longer to pay for these measures, because he refused to raise taxes and increase a public debt pile that has ballooned to 102% of GDP during the pandemic. "Don't believe those who say they will cut the retirement age to 60 or 62 and that everything will be alright. That's not true," he added.
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