Macron and Le Pen face crucial debate as French presidential election vote looms

Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron (Eric Feferberg/Pool Photo via AP)

Centrist president Emmanuel Macron and far-right contender Marine Le Pen will meet in a one-on-one television debate that could prove decisive before Sunday’s run-off vote in France’s presidential campaign.

Both candidates have carefully prepared for the highly scrutinised debate on Wednesday evening that is expected to last more than two hours.