Emmanuel Macron Wins French Presidential Debate

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Brandon Kirby
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Candidate for the 2017 presidential election Marine Le Pen, French National Front (FN) political party leader, arrives for a debate organised by French private TV channel TF1 in Aubervilliers, outside Paris, France, March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Patrick Kovarik/Pool

France’s presidential front-runner candidate, the centrist and pro-business Emmanuel Macron, was said to have been the most convincing participant of last night’s five-way debate, according to an Elabe snap poll.

The National Front’s populist leader Marine Le Pen didn’t pull any punches as she asserted her plan to quell immigration, “The best way to send a signal, an honest signal, that says ‘We can’t welcome you anymore’ is to cut off all the suction pumps of immigration – state medical care, access to social housing, various assistance, subsidies and so on.”

Macron fired back, “The trap you’re falling into Mrs. Le Pen, with your provocations, is to divide society, to make the more than four million French people whose religion is Islam, and the great majority who are not into communitarianism but who live in our republic is to make them enemies of the republic! For me, it’s no.”

Macron, criticized as a newcomer to the world of politics turned the tables on Le Pen by citing her lack of experience outside the world of politics.

Francois Fillon, France’s center-right candidate had concerns over Le Pen’s populism, saying, “The real serial killer for French spending power is Mrs. Le Pen with her plans to exit the Euro and restore the franc: that would spark run away inflation.”

Fillon was referring to Le Pen’s proposal of a 35% tariff on certain imports, which would drastically increase the already high cost of living in France.

France’s first round of their presidential election is scheduled for April 23. Should no candidate receive over 50% of the vote they will head to a second round, excluding all but the top two performing candidates, on May 7th. Projections are that Le Pen and and Macron will be going to the second round, in which Macron would secure an easy victory.

 

Source: Bloomberg
Photo Source: Reuters

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Brandon Kirby

Brandon Kirby has a philosophy degree from the University of New Brunswick and is a current MBA candidate finishing his thesis. He is an AML officer specializing in hedge funds in the Cayman Islands, owns a real estate company in Canada, and has been in the financial industry since 2004. He is the director of Being Libertarian - Canada and the president of the Libertarian Party of Canada.

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