Irish Examiner view: Macron has turned French presidential election into a referendum

Far right candidate Marine Le Pen has built considerable support, but Emmanuel Macron's strongest move during Le Débat was to focus on Europe, environment, and values

Marine Le Pen, the far-right Front National contender in the French presidential election faced off against the incumbent, Emmanuel Macron, in Le Débat on Wednesday. Picture: Eric Feferberg/AP

The French media seemed united yesterday in giving the verdict to incumbent Emmanuel Macron, over challenger Marine Le Pen, after Wednesday’s crucial TV debate ahead of Sunday’s run-off vote between the two.

Much of the focus was on Ms Le Pen, who lost the 2017 run-off between the two by a massive 32 percentage points after a disastrous performance in the TV debate beforehand. This time, the far-right leader was said to be more composed and at ease in an attempt to correct an image of incompetence and aggressiveness she had portrayed previously.