PARIS, April 17, 2022 (AFP) – Emmanuel Macron and Penn in Marine begin the last week of their campaign on Monday, marking the high-profile televised debate between the two candidates in the second round of France’s presidential election on April 24.

One week after the vote, no decision was made. The outgoing president promises only a 53-55.5% lead over his far-right rival.

The margin is much lower than in 2017, when Macron won with 66% of the vote. The challenge in the second round is to convince the undecided and those who have passed 26% of the census in the first round.

It is especially important to mobilize the Left voters who are the mediators of this fierce competition. Since the end of the first round on April 10, both finalists have continued to make environmental and social promises to far-left leader Jean-Luc M‌lenchon’s voters, finishing third with nearly 22% of the vote.

Since the release of the first round results of Macron (27.8%) ahead of Lee Penn (23.1%), both candidates have resumed their campaigns, increasing displacement, meeting crowds and appearing on radio and TV.

– A crucial debate – A week before the second round, Wednesday’s televised debate seems to be decisive, amid a tense campaign and the far right coming closer to power than ever before.

The traditional duel, which has taken place in two rounds of every presidential election in France since 1974, will be moderated by one journalist on the public channel France 2 and another on the private channel TF1.

Philip Riotort, a sociologist and political communication specialist, estimates that Penn and Emmanuel Macron in the Marine are “very dangerous.”

In 2017, the debate was devastating for Le Pen, who was aggressive and unprepared against the centrist leader, which led to her failure in the opinion of many analysts.

Five years later, the far-right leader softened her image, worked on her program, launched a proximity campaign and gained a more “presidential” profile.

“I’m ready because I have experience, I worked a lot on the project, I arranged my project with them (French), I brought it closer to their realities, to their expectations, a serious project, a balanced, budget project,” the candidate said on Friday.

Macron, on the other hand, does not underestimate the “extremely tight” debate and acknowledges his entourage.

Macron, who was not new five years ago, is trying to break the opponent’s program by pointing out the radical aspects he tried to hide in his campaign on issues such as immigration or institutions.

He will also seek to correct his image, which is sometimes perceived as far-right among left-wing voters.

bur-cf / fz / dbh / zm / jc

TF1 – Television Franchise1