President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen squared off in a debate on Wednesday evening, four days ahead of the April 24 presidential runoff vote. [L2N2WI0UR]
Here are some key quotes from Macron and Le Pen as they launched their final bid to convince undecided French voters.
ISLAM AND FRENCH SECULARISM
Le Pen:
"I want to ban the veil in the public space. I think the veil is a uniform imposed by Islamists and I think that the majority of young women who wear it cannot do otherwise."
Macron:
"You will create a civil war in the suburbs, Madame Le Pen."
"How many police officers will have to run behind women to enforce the veil ban?"
SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION
Le Pen:
"Everywhere I go, including in the deepest countryside, I have people telling me 'we can't take it anymore'."
"We need to solve the problem of massive and anarchic immigration."
France needs a referendum on immigration "so that the French choose who comes, who stays and who leaves."
Macron:
"You live solely off fear, Madame Le Pen, and resentment."
"A referendum would change nothing, it depends on the cooperation of other countries."
CLIMATE AND ENERGY POLICY
Macron:
"There is no way out of fossil fuels that relies solely on nuclear. Your strategy is not workable."
"Even though we have energy needs today, you are not telling me how we will cope with moving beyond fossil fuels, how we will reduce our dependence on Russian gas."
Le Pen"
"I am in no way a climate sceptic. But you, you are something of a climate hypocrite."
"Free trade kills the planet."
"You have completely changed your tune on nuclear power... We have wasted 10 years destabilising a nuclear industry that needed to be strengthened to make this carbon-free energy source once again the basis for our energy mix."
PENSION REFORM:
Macron:
"I don't want to increase our taxes, I don't want to increase our debt, I even want to start paying it off over the next five years. So I want us to work more, a pillar of which would be to push back the legal retirement age by four months a year until we reach 65 in 2031."
Le Pen:
"All those who had their first proper job before the age of 20 will be able to retire at 60."
In response to Macron's proposal: "You foresee that no one will be able to enjoy a full retirement."
EUROPE
Macron:
"Five years ago, your programme was only applicable if France left the euro (currency). Today, you still want to get out of it but you don't say so anymore."
"I believe in the Franco-German couple."
"We have made (COVID-19) vaccines that protect us thanks to our European agreements."
Le Pen:
"France is a world power not just a European power."
"I want the European Commission to respect sovereign nations, to respect the choice of the French people, including their choice of society."
"So I want to change this European organisation. But I don't want to leave it."
RUSSIA
Le Pen on energy sanctions:
"The only sanctions I disagree with is the blocking of Russian oil and gas imports. Why do I disagree? Because in reality it will do no harm to Russia and will do enormous harm to our people."
"We cannot commit hara-kiri in the hope of hurting Russia."
Macron on Le Pen's Russia ties:
"You are dependent on power, you are dependent on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. You took a loan from a Russian bank."
"You don't speak to other leaders, you speak to your banker when you speak to Russia, that's the problem."
COST OF LIVING
Le Pen:
"I've seen the people suffer, I've seen them worry, worry about a downgrading in their quality of life, about a kind of precariousness that they feels is widespread.
"All you do is hand out cheques ... my priority is to give French people their money back."
Macron:
"I don’t want people listening to us to think their salaries will rise by 10%"
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel and Layli Foroudi; Editing by Richard Lough)
