Published on: 04/20/2022 – 15:49 Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen meet on Wednesday evening for the unmissable duel of the presidential election. A debate to follow on France 24 from 9 p.m. (Paris time). It’s time for the rematch. Five years later, the president-candidate Emmanuel Macron finds the one he faced in the second round in 2017, Marine Le Pen. If the debates do not traditionally change the situation, this one could remobilize certain electorates and “move more votes than what we have observed since the beginning of the Fifth Republic”, according to Brice Teinturier, Deputy CEO of Ipsos France. Four days before the second round, the polls invariably give the advantage to the outgoing president, with 54 to 56, 5% of voting intentions against 43.5 to 46% for Marine Le Pen. That is a gap of 8 to 12 points, when Emmanuel Macron won in 2017 with a lead of 32 points (66% of the votes cast against 34% for Marine Le Pen). But a possible strong abstention could blur the game on Sunday April 24. And the two camps gave Wednesday morning a foretaste of the battle at the summit to come. Marine Le Pen accused of weathervaning “on all subjects” During the debate, Emmanuel Macron “will insist on the inconsistencies of Marine Le Pen, who has nevertheless said everything and its opposite on everything in five years, and particularly on geopolitical and strategic subjects”, assured the Minister Delegate for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, citing Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Changing your mind systematically on all subjects (…), at the very least it is a lack of clairvoyance, at the most it is substantial proof of incompetence”, he said on Radio J. Both candidates diverge on almost everything: from pensions to ecology via the wearing of the veil, public freedoms and institutions, purchasing power, the European Union and international diplomacy, relations with Russia.>> To see: “Le Pen-Macron: two visions of the world” Trying to broaden their electoral base, they have also amended some of their flagship proposals: the ban on wearing the veil in public space is no longer the priority for Marine Le Pen, retirement would be increased to 64 instead of 65 initially proposed for Emmanuel Macron, who also promised, in a gesture to green voters, a Prime Minister “directly in charge of ecological planning”. The “weak point” of the outgoing president “and perhaps also his strong point is never to doubt himself,” said RN President Jordan Bardella on France 2. While Marine Le Pen’s “real strong point”, according to him, “is to talk about people’s daily lives”. The defense of purchasing power has been placed at the heart of the campaign of the far-right candidate. “There is no stress but a little apprehension because we know that many French people will decide on this debate”, he added. Emmanuel Macron attacked on his “contempt” and his ” arrogance”For Marine Le Pen, who took refuge at home on Tuesday, it is a question of making people forget the failure of the 2017 debate, the “biggest” of her political career, during which she appeared tired and badly prepared. Unlike 2017, Emmanuel Macron presents himself this time with an outgoing president’s record to defend and will be attacked by his competitor on his supposed “contempt” and “arrogance” towards the French. But he will also try to to push to its limits concerning its program and to unravel the smoothed image of that which remains in its eyes “the heiress” of the “clan” Le Pen.Marion Maréchal and Guillaume Peltier, vice-presidents of the Reconquest party! of Éric Zemmour, for their part called on Marine Le Pen to “not forget the values of the right” in the face of those of the left privileged to attract the voters of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. After many negotiations and draws, it is finally the purchasing power which will open this debate lasting 2h30. Marine le Pen, placed on the right of the screen, will speak first and last, indicated TF1 and France 2. In addition to the purchasing power, each of the topics covered – security, youth, international, competitiveness, environment, social model, governance – will have “a given time” to speak. After a lot of discussions, there will also be “listening plans” (where we see the candidate listening to the one who challenges him). In 2017, these plans had disadvantaged Marine Le Pen, showing her in particular drowned in her files. The Insoumis leader, who accumulated nearly 22% of the votes in the first round, for his part already spanned the result of Sunday. He called on Tuesday evening to elect him “Prime Minister” during the June legislative elections, giving a majority to his left camp to impose cohabitation on Marine Le Pen or Emmanuel Macron. With AFP