Macron, Le Pen square off for decisive debate as vote looms
ABC News
In the climax of France’s presidential campaign, centrist President Emmanuel Macron and far-right contender Marine Le Pen will meet Wednesday evening in a one-on-one TV debate that promises to be tough for both
PARIS -- In the climax of France’s presidential campaign, centrist President Emmanuel Macron and far-right contender Marine Le Pen will meet Wednesday evening in a one-on-one television debate that could prove decisive before Sunday's runoff vote.
Both candidates have carefully prepared for the highly scrutinized debate that's expected to last more than two hours.
Macron, 44, emerged ahead from the April 10 first round and is leading in opinion polls with a margin varying between 3 and 13 percentage points. But Le Pen, 53, has significantly narrowed the gap compared to the last presidential election five years ago, when she lost with 34% of the vote to Macron's 66%.
In 2017, a similar debate struck a decisive blow to her campaign.
