Emmanuel Macron (right) and Marine Le Pen pose prior to the start of a live prime-time debate in the studios of French television station on 3 May. Photo: Eric Feferberg/ReutersParis: French centrist Emmanuel Macron impressed more viewers than his far-right rival Marine Le Pen in a fiery TV debate, a poll found Thursday, underlining his status as the favourite for this weekend’s presidential runoff. The duel was billed as a confrontation between Macron’s call for openness and pro-market reforms and Le Pen’s France-first nationalism. Le Pen branded the former economy minister and investment banker “the candidate of the elite” and the “darling of the system”. The euro policy “was the big nonsense of Marine Le Pen’s programme,” he said midway through the 140-minute debate.

Source: Mint May 04, 2017 10:30 UTC