French rivals make their pitches to voters
Le Pen spars with Macron as five front-runners set out stall on TV to win the crucial undecided vote
Brexit was the focal point last night of an unprecedented televised debate between the five candidates to be the next French president. Marine Le Pen accused her main rivals of promoting “project fear” over her plans to leave the EU. François Fillon, the conservative nominee, accused her of being a “serial killer” of the French economy in her plan to exit the euro, restore the franc, and to hold a referendum on leaving the EU.
MARINE LE PEN accused her main rivals in France’s presidential race of promoting “project fear” over her plans to leave the European Union and the euro in an unprecedented televised debate last night.
Brexit was the focal point of one of the most violent clashes in the threehour debate – the first of three before the first round of voting on April 23 – in which the five main candidates finally started discussing policy in a campaign dogged by sleaze allegations.
In one of a series of heated exchanges, conservative nominee François Fillon, accused Ms Le Pen of being a “serial killer” of the French economy in her plan to exit the euro and restore the franc and to hold a referendum on leaving the EU.
“You are dragging the country towards veritable economic and social chaos, which would lead to the ruin of both borrowers and savers,” he said.
Polls suggest that almost three quarters of the French are against Ms Le Pen’s plan to replace the euro with the franc, with many fearing it could spark a bank run if she was elected.
Ms Le Pen, who, according to polls, will reach the final round of the election only to be trounced by independent centrist Emmanuel Macron, hit back, saying: “That’s called project fear. They used the same argument before the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump.” Mr Macron, 39, an ex- banker and former economy minister who has never held elected office, chimed in, saying: “Those who were responsible for Brexit, who said everything is possible and it will be wonderful have all scampered off. They have all gone into hiding.”
He predicted that Britain would suffer from leaving the EU.
“We’re going to start seeing the results (of their departure). Because it’s other Conservatives who are going to have to deal with it, and by the way we’re going to have to be incredibly rigorous [in negotiating with Britain about its exit by not giving them any undue concessions],” he said.
Ms Le Pen told him to “be a good sport. The results in Britain are wonderful. They have unemployment that is lower than it’s been for decades.”
He responded: “Unlike you, I propose to have a strong France inside Europe.”
The pair also clashed on secularism, when Ms Le Pen claimed Mr Macron was in favour of the burkini, the bodycovering Islamic garment that was recently the subject of controversy on French beaches. “I don’t need a ventriloquist,” he shot back. “You are lying [to voters] by twisting the truth.”
The debate, which also included Socialist hopeful Benoît Hamon and Leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, covered a wide range of topics, including the economy and foreign policy. Another six minor candidates were not invited to speak on the private channel TF1, to their fury, having to make do with a parallel internet debate.
The consensus was that Mr Macron, who pledges to modernise France with a “neither Left nor Right” approach, had the most to lose.
While favourite, polls suggest millions of French voters remain unsure the former banker’s hands are safe enough to take on what is often dubbed the most powerful job, constitutionally speaking, in the Western world.
He sought to reassure from the outset by saying: “The traditional parties, those who have for decades failed to solve yesterday’s problems, won’t be able to do it tomorrow either.”
With half of French voters saying they are still undecided and a third currently intending to abstain, the stakes are high and on-air slips could radically change the pecking order.
Once favourite but now trailing on 17 per cent, Mr Fillon, 63, is desperate to turn the page on the disclosure that he used almost €1 million (£870,000) of taxpayers’ money to employ his wife and children. The Les Républicains candidate insisted his radical plans to slash spending and public sector jobs would save France from ruin. “I will be the president of national recovery. I will free the French from bureaucracy, from an excess of rules that stop them realising their dreams and block them in their lives,” he said.