Has the debate moved the lines? It was the highlight of this between-two rounds of the presidential election: for more than two hours, Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron were able to do battle against millions of French people.
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Unsurprisingly, in each of the two camps, we claim victory. franceinfo followed this highly symbolic political evening with different voter profiles.
“He can’t help giving lessons!”
“We are close to victory on Sunday!“: giant screens and meal trays, the atmosphere was festive for these twenty activists of the National Rally, gathered in in Decazeville, in Aveyron. MBut the debate has barely begun, the smiles fade, the faces tense. Visibly disappointed, some leave, annoyed they say by Emmanuel Macron. “He can’t help but be lecturer and condescending. It’s stronger than him“, slips a voter of Marine Le Pen.
And then, time passes. And nothing to get carried away for these activists. Except perhaps on the occasion of Marine Le Pen’s response concerning her loan from a Russian bank. “There are millions of French people who, in the last five years, have gone to French banks to make loans. They don’t owe you anything. The only thing they owe is to repay their loan. Exactly like me“, launched the far-right candidate for the outgoing president. A punchline applauded by Thierry, who then takes on some colors: “I find Marine Le Pen much more patient, much more poised than Emmanuel Macron“.
But then the themes go by and the room empties. Midnight is approaching, the debate over, some timid applause resounds. And everyone agrees: it is Marine Le Pen who came out of it the best. “I hope that it will precisely allow people who are in doubt to remove this demonization that there is on the RN party and who will bring their voice on Sunday in the right direction, that is to say for Marine Le Pen“, estimates an activist, to whom, like the supporters of the candidate, there are still two days to convince.
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“Marine Le Pen avoids the subject of ecology”
To convince, precisely, these four friends in a Parisian collocation were waiting to be convinced. But rather by Emmanuel Macron: three of them voted, without much conviction for the president-candidate in the first round. The four boys, all young working people, may take a close interest in the economy, but very quickly the debate became a little too technical. “It’s a bit like cooking recipes. It’s not very pleasant. What bothers me every time is that it’s difficult to debate facts that are disputed on both sides. There, he talks about figures, inflation and growth, each taking into account their reality. I think that the basis of a debate is first to agree on the facts on which you are debating. And then we move on to opinion…“, regret Simon and Robin, between two bites of chicken tagliatelle.
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Then, they all take a close look at the posture of the candidates. “Macron gives the impression, in any case, of having a better technical mastery of the subjects. Afterwards, Macron’s posture, a little condescending, will be very much singled out. For once, even if Le Pen gives the impression of a little less technical mastery, she plays more the game of debate and respect for others.“
Here is Oscar, who arrives during the debate. He who voted for Yannick Jadot in the first round, he regrets that ecology does not have enough place in the debate. “In the first round, we had hardly heard of it. And it’s not something they campaigned on. Marine Le Pen hardly spoke about it and, there, we see that she avoids the subject a little, it’s a shame, but it’s not surprising. I think she does not see the climate emergency...”, he sighs.
At the time of the balance sheet, they count the points: “They remained quite cordial. Nevertheless, they did not go into their points of contention so much. It will confirm everyone in their ideas, I think.“. Not enough to move the lines for the roommates who will vote on Sunday.
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“Such a mediocre debate”
If their candidate is absent from this second round, many Insoumis activists have followed the debate. Like these five young supporters of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, gathered around a TV – and an aperitif – in the north of Paris. On the menu : “Peanuts, dried tomatoes and some bread. Enough to pass on what we will hear!“, smiled one of them.
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The show begins on purchasing power. Manuel already sees recovery attempts there: “They are both for price locking. It’s quite magical. It’s the battle to try to match Jean-Luc Mélenchon. It will not work !“
It’s the theme of the environment that they expect the most, especially Coline. “This is important, especially when you see the IPCC report which says that there are three years to act for the planet.” But, again, disappointment: “It sucks! With two bad on ecology, it makes a bad debate on ecology!“, annoys one of the friends.
From there, the boys drop out: they take a look at the Ligue 1 matches in progress, play Pokémon… A real missed opportunity for Hill: “The debate is at such a mediocre level that it no longer gives any confidence in democracy.” After this debate, the young woman still does not know if she will vote Emmanuel Macron or white, next Sunday, for the second round.