Le Pen and Macron Clash in Vicious Presidential Debate in France
The debate on Wednesday night between France’s two presidential candidates, Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front
and the centrist former economy minister Emmanuel Macron, was more like an angry American-style television shoutfest than the reasoned discussion of issues the French have become accustomed to.
Le Pen, true to the scrappy, guerrilla-style party
that she leads — it is stronger on combat than on policy — spent much of the two-and-a-half-hour contest attacking him.
Le Pen cast herself as tougher on the issue, reeling off a series of antiterrorism measures — experts have suggested
that they are either impractical or ineffective — and saying Mr. Macron was a weakling on security.
make it, but we can’t," he said. that we’re going to leave Europe because the others can
Le Pen said with scorn; Mr. Macron was merely a heartless banker, in her view.
Le Pen depicted a France of "total collapse of our industries," preyed upon by Islamist extremists, demanding
ever more government protection from economic vicissitudes and urgently needing to close its borders.
