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| Candidates Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen pose prior to the start of a live prime-time debate in La Plaine-Saint-Denis, near Paris |
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen criticised Emmanuel Macron, her centrist rival for the French presidency, as a โsmirking bankerโ representing globalisation gone wild when the two met in a crucial pre-election TV debate on Wednesday.
โMr Macron is the candidate of globalisation, Uberisation,โ Le Pen said, firing an opening salvo. โAnd all of this has been directed by Mr (outgoing Socialist President Francois) Hollande.โ
After being attacked by Le Pen for not preventing big French companies from being sold to foreign firms, Macron said she had not properly prepared for the debate and did not seem to understand economic issues.
โYouโre talking nonsense,โ Macron, a one-time economy minister under Hollande and a former investment banker, replied. โYou are not answering the questions.โ
Voters go to the polls on Sunday to choose between Macron and Le Pen in what is widely seen as Franceโs most important election in decades with implications for its role in Europe and the world.
