French President Emmanuel Macron said that he is ready to take part in debates against the head of the right-wing National Rally party faction in the French Parliament, Marine Le Pen, before the elections to the European Parliament.
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Earlier, Marine Le Pen said that she was ready to participate in debates with Macron either after the European elections, so that the president takes into account their results, or before they are held, if he undertakes to resign or dissolve the National Assembly if his Renaissance party is defeated.
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“I am ready to debate with Ms. Le Pen now,” he said in an interview with Parisien.
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However, as the newspaper writes, the Elysee Palace brushed off the conditions set by Le Pen.
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“If we believe that part of France’s destiny is at stake in these elections (to the European Parliament – ed.), and I believe that this is the case, then we need to have a debate. I am at her disposal. The ball is in her court,” the president added.
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The invitation to participate in the debate is valid for two weeks.
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Shortly after the publication of Parisien, Le Pen reiterated the terms of the debate with Macron.
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“If the President of the Republic, who is the head of state and not of the majority, enters the electoral arena, then he must take responsibility for the consequences. So I will participate in the debate against Emmanuel Macron if he proposes his resignation or the dissolution of the National Assembly in in case of failure of the list from the Revival party,” she wrote on the social network X.
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Ahead of the European Parliament elections on June 9, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party is leading the polls by a wide margin. 31% of voters are ready to vote for the President of the National Rally, Jordan Bardell, who is participating in the European elections, while only 17% of citizens support the candidate from President Emmanuel Macron’s party, Valérie Ayer.
