Less than three weeks before the European elections, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, to the rescue of a list in bad shape, and the great far-right favorite Jordan Bardella, faced off in a sometimes cacophonous televised duel. They delivered two irreconcilable visions of Europe.
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For nearly an hour and a half, the two young leaders – 35 years old for the Prime Minister, 28 years old for the head of the National Rally (RN) list – debated Europe, immigration, power of purchase, of the war in Ukraine…
The initially polite tone became more and more offensive, even acerbic, during the debate, with Gabriel Attal accusing his opponent of “ hate Europe “, of ” change your mind about everything “. “ I’m not like you, to change my mind about everything. Not to assume past statements. To say “we want to leave Europe” then “finally, we want to stay in”, “we want to leave the euro”, “finally, we want to stay in“, attacked the Prime Minister.
The themes discussed – single market, customs duties, electric vehicles, immigration, defense – unsurprisingly revealed fairly clear fault lines between the two camps. “ That there are questions about the project we are carrying out for the country that we want to implement is a fact. On the other hand, there is no doubt about your record “, retorted Jordan Bardella.
One of the liveliest exchanges concerned the Russia. “ Your party, that of Mrs. Le Pen and Jean-Marie Le Pen, needed money. Russia needed a party in Europe precisely to weaken Europe from within. ” And “ you may have repaid your debt, you have a moral contract with them », in the European Parliament, launched the Prime Minister.
It’s not “ not at the level of the Prime Minister of the France to have arguments also under the belt », replied Jordan Bardella, also accusing the president Emmanuel Macron of ” play with fire » while not excluding sending troops to Ukraine.
Russia and immigration
Gabriel Attal pointed out the “ contradictions » and about-face by the far-right party in its position on Europe, and accused it of proposing “ measurements without head or tail “.
On immigration, the RN’s hobbyhorse, Mr. Bardella castigated the European migration pact, believing that it only left the choice between ” compulsory immigration or financial punishment “. He repeated his antiphon that “ delinquency and criminality are linked to the inability to control our migratory flows “.
Read alsoWhat is contained in the asylum and migration pact adopted by the European Parliament
Same screening on the concept of “ double border » defended by the RN: “ how do you do ? “, questioned the Prime Minister, denouncing an idea “ smoker “.
“ Obviously we are not going to control everyone », assured Mr. Bardella, referring to “ facilitation mechanisms ” for the ” cross-border workers “.
The two debaters focused on the theme of immigration. With ” the presentation you make of the subject, we have the feeling while listening to you that behind every foreigner, every immigrant, there is a delinquent and a potential terrorist, and I find it revolting », Launched Mr. Attal.
“ It’s the opposite: I think that almost all delinquency and criminality are linked to the inability to control our migratory flows “, replied Mr. Bardella.
The president of the RN also mocked the “ unrealistic environmental ambitions » of the government and the majority, with the ban on thermal vehicles in 2035. « New vehicles », specified Gabriel Attal. “ You seem to live in a world where we have oil in France […] and where oil does not pollute », added the head of government.
The debate was also broadcast on the YouTube news channel Hugodecrypte, which has 2.66 million subscribers, as well as on the YouTube channel “C quoi l’info?” » from France Télévisions, with the aim of attracting a younger audience.
“ A kidnapping » of the election
The competitors of the majority and the RN showed their wrath over the holding of this two-person debate. The first secretary of the PS Olivier Faure like the president of the Republicans (LR) Eric Ciotti wrote to Arcom, the audiovisual regulator, to ask it “ to impose » to France Télévisions « equal treatment “. Excluded from the debate, Raphaël Glucksmann denounced “ a kidnapping » of the election.
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Gabriel Attal, who until then had not been much involved in the European campaign, was mandated by President Emmanuel Macron to redress the situation while the polls are poor for the list of the presidential majority. Led by MEP Valérie Hayer, it is credited with 16% of voting intentions, closely followed by the socialist list led by Raphaël Glucksmann, at 15%. The RN, for its part, is at the top of the voting intention polls, even reaching 33% according to a poll on Thursday.