French election 2022: Macron and Le Pen clash in presidential debate over far-right candidate Russia links
Follow the debate as it happened
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen have clashed over the far-right leader’s links with Russia in a live television debate ahead of the upcoming election.
The incumbent president said Ms Le Pen was “dependent on Putin” and called Russia her “banker” as he launched into fierce criticism over a loan taken from a Russian bank in 2014. The National Rally leader denied her independence was compromised by this.
The two candidates also clashed over energy - in particular renewables - and Muslim headscarves in public spaces, with the Mr Macron saying Ms Le Pen’s plans to ban them would start a “civil war”.
Mr Macron, a pro-European centrist, has been enjoying a growing and significant lead over Ms Le Pen, an anti-immigration nationalist, according to polls. But the result is expected to be closer than five years ago.
Bookmakers said more than a quater of French voters were waiting for the debate to decide how - or whether - to vote in the final round of the presidential election on Sunday.
Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the French election debate, which is set to kick off shortly.
What happened in the first round of voting?
The two candidates are going to face each other in a head-to-head vote on Sunday, following the results of the first round.
Catch up on what happened ahead of tonight’s debate:
French election: Emmanuel Macron to face Marine Le Pen in round two
‘There must not be one single vote for Le Pen in second round,’ far-left candidate forecast to be out of race says
How are things looking for Emmanuel Macron?
French President Emmanuel Macron has a more than 90 per cent chance of winning Sunday’s presidential runoff vote against far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, the odds offered by UK political bookmakers showed on Wednesday.
Macron has seen his lead in opinion polls edge higher over the past few days to over 55 per cent on average against 5 per cent in favor of his rival whom he will face in a debate later on Wednesday.
The websites of William Hill and Paddy Power gave odds implying a 90.9 per cent chance for the incumbent, while the Betfair Exchange had 92.6 per cent and Ladbrokes 94.1 per cent.
Reuters
Watch debate
The debate will be kicking off in an hour.
I’ll be posting updates throughout here. Or for the full thing, you can watch live on the English-language France 24:
More than a quarter waiting for debate to decide how or whether to vote, poll finds
The debate could be a crucial moment in the French presidential election.
Some 14 per cent of voters are waiting for the debate to decide who to vote for, while 12 per cent say it will be decisive for whether they will vote at all, according to a poll by OpinionWay-Kea Partners for Les Echos newspaper.
Sources on both side said they wanted a calm debate. One close to Emmanuel Macron said it could be “boring” and the president had to show he was “solid.”
A source close to Marine Le Pen said she wanted “a calm debate, project vs project”.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Candidates ‘to try and reach out to undecided voters'
Candidates are expected to try and reach out to undecided voters or those who “aren’t even planning to vote” on Sunday, reporter Claire Paccalin says.
Marine Le Pen and the Kremlin
Borzou Daragahi, our international correspondent, has taken a look at heightened scrunity over Marine Le Pen’s ties with the Kremlin as the war in Ukraine wages on.
The far-right candidate has previously expressed support for Vladimir Putin - and was even forced to destroy thousands of copies of campaign material that featured photos of the pair after the Ukrainian invasion was launched.
Read his report from Paris here:
As French vote approaches, Le Pen’s Putin ties come under scrutiny
A victory for the far-right hopeful in France’s presidential election could have truly a global impact
The debate is set to kick off shortly. Stay put for updates.
French debate starts
And we are off.
Watch here for the debate translated into English:
Question on cost of living
Candidates are faced with a question about the cost of living.
Marine Le Pen says she wants to act as the “spokesperson” for the French people and to increase the purchasing power of the population.
Emmanuel Macron says he has noticed there is not anything on unemployement in his far-right opponent’s platform - which suggests there is no problem.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments