Macron and Le Pen go head-to-head in French presidential debate

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen went head-to-head in a live televised debate on Wednesday evening that could change the course of the presidential election this weekend.

Le Pen had drawn lots to speak first and opened by addressing the cost of living crisis that polls show is the number one concern for French voters. She spoke of reducing taxes permanently to give French families between ¤150-200 extra each month per household.

The French television station TF1, which is hosting the debate, had hoped to begin with an exchange between the candidates over the international situation, namely Ukraine, but Le Pen had vetoed this as an opening subject.

With everything to win or lose, Macron, 44, had to avoid sounding arrogant and headmasterly and Le Pen, 53, had to appear calm, credible and above all moderate to win over the 40% of floating voters who did not support either in the first round 10 days ago, especially the 7.7 million who voted for the radical left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Five years on, Macron is no longer the political arriviste and was able to carry his arguments with the weight of presidential experience, albeit with mixed results. Le Pen is weak on technical details and is open to criticism for her previous support of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

Apart from the programme differences, viewers will be watching the behaviour of the two candidates.

Much of the debate is expected to be technical. The question of pensions and the official retirement age is an extremely complicated issue that will be difficult to clarify in a television clash.

Europe is also expected to be a hot topic, with Macron wanting a stronger, more powerful union and Le Pen wishing to ignore the EU and create an alliance of nations within the bloc.

The latest opinion poll from Ipsos suggests Macron has a 12 point lead over Le Pen for the second-round vote, with him winning with 56% and her on 44%, with a 1.1% margin of error. However, 13% of those voters did not say for whom they would vote. Of those who said they would abstain or vote blank, 43% said they may change their mind on the day.