French polls: Macron, Le Pen trade insults in presidential debate

Barely three days before the crucial final round of polling for electing the new president of France, the main contenders Emmanuel Macron, described as a centrist, and his far-right opponent Marine Le Pen faced off in a two-and-a-half hour televised debate which many observers described as undignified and disgraceful because of the insults and the invectives they traded.

While television polls immediately after the debate declared Macron the ‘winner’ and the more convincing of the two, with polls predicting that as many as one-third of the French voters could stay away from Sunday’s polling, the election is still wide open. Macron, however, is said to be leading Le Pen by 19 percentage points in the polls.

Macron smirked at Le Pen saying, “The high priestess of fear is sitting before me.” Le Pen was no less rude, laughing at Macron and declaring, “Whatever happens, France will be led by a woman, either me or Mrs Merkel.” She suggested that Macron, a former investment banker, would sell off French companies, prostrate before the German Chancellor and allow the more robust German economy to steamroll the French.

Both the presidential candidates called each other names. While Le Pen described her rival as “arrogant, spoilt and a cold-eyed, smirking banker”, Macron called her an “ill-informed, hate-filled and corrupt liar”.

The following selection of quotes provide a glimpse to their respective positions on various issues.

Marine Le Pen

• Security and terrorism are major issues that are completely missing from your programme.
• People may say I am old-fashioned but I like France as it is, with its culture, heritage, language and borders…
• France needs to be equi-distant from Russia and the US. Russia is a great nation that has shown no hostility to France.
• The euro is the currency of the banks and not of the people.
• Your strategy is to tell a lot of lies.

Emmanuel Macron

• You were against all the reforms that the European Union proposed against terrorism. By dividing the French people, you are proposing a civil war.
• I will not have my behaviour dictated by Russia or Putin; that’s the difference between me and Le Pen. We need to work with the US.
• My idea of Europe is the opposite of hers, where companies can trade in euros and pay their staff in another currency.
• You are a threat to our institutions. France deserves better than you.