“Stop confusing everything. AIE Aie Aie… “ “Your program has neither head nor tail. » “You are climatosceptic. » “You talk to your banker when you talk to Russia. » If some expected Emmanuel Macron to be cautious in his between-two-round debate with Marine Le Pen, Wednesday April 20, so as not to fuel accusations of arrogance, the Head of State On the contrary, he was on the offensive against his far-right opponent. As if he finally wanted to throw all his forces into the battle for the presidential election, four days before the second round, Sunday, April 24.
This is a break with the strategy followed for weeks. Refusal to debate with the other candidates, little travel, a minimal and overhanging campaign… Before the first round, on April 10, the tenant of the Elysée was playing it safe. He could have continued on this path during the televised debate, by managing his lead in the polls, which invariably give him the winner. According to the Ipsos-Sopra Steria survey for The worldpublished on Wednesday, he would win with 56% of the vote against 44% for Marine Le Pen.
Methodically destabilize
But, rather than remain cautious and play against, the outgoing president tried to take control from the start of the debate. Constantly cutting off the Rassemblement national (RN) candidate and making accusations, in particular about her closeness to Russia, Mr. Macron has tried methodically to destabilize her, five years after the failure of Marine Le Pen during their first presidential debate. “You will create civil war!” », “You only live in fear and resentment! », “the stunting is you! », “You don’t explain how you do it! “. Like a boxer attacking his opponent from the outset, in order to throw him into the ropes.
In a kind of role reversal, the one who could fear being attacked relentlessly on his balance sheet has most often managed to place his competitor on the defensive. He thus placed himself in the posture he had defined, on March 31, during a trip to Charente-Maritime: “In my mind, I am a challenger. I campaign like a challenger and that’s how you have to convince. »
Without, however, preventing himself from multiplying the mocking smiles or taking up his interlocutor in a sometimes professorial tone. “It’s a risk, you should never underestimate the opponent”however warned a minister in recent days, when a close friend of the candidate president estimated that “Any arrogance should be avoided in the face of Marine Le Pen, who campaigned on proximity and gentleness”.
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