it will be difficult. marie le pen to overcome that motive. bother bernard smith, al jazeera paris for a political analysts. sean p, a parent says politics and france has become sharply polarized, will have a big moment. it will be the debate between mrs. le ben and the present macro. so everybody is waiting for the debate because you, as you know, until now, mr. macro, as refuse any kind of debate with any candidates. so it will be its 1st debate for the selection. and so everybody is waiting for that. we will see at the moment how mr. look, ben will succeed to to by mr. mac rob. we know that before the election from from the 201973, she was not very, very good in this debate. so she has to make

le pen has said she worried about their impact on french life. >> roger cohen, bureau chief for "the new york times"s has written about this in his paper. what does marie despite the kindler, gentler face. she's still marine le pen. a read against ma. >> yes, she smiling a lot more and she's still marine le pen and still wants every woman to be fined if she wear as head scarf. that's her program. but more for the last administration and all of vladimir putin's european allies, putin said he didn't want to interfere in the elections. she said she would lift sanctions as season of by she's skeptical of the eu and at one point wanted to withdraw entirely. and so this would be a very, very worrying development for the alliance at this moment with a war in europe if we had a president marie le pen in france. >> roger, let's just talk about instead of going on television with hose and trying to negotiate a solution before the invasion and since with vladimir putin. he wasn't campaigning. he didn't do debates. did the french voters react against that? >> they did react. in the polls about a month ago he had a clear like 10% advantage over her. he was distract

projections from voting show incumbent emmanuel macron will face a runoff with the far-right challenger marie le pen. and elaine cobb is in paris. these candidates faced each other five years ago. when you think about this election, what stands out as different this time? >> reporter: five years ago, marie le pen's strong showing was a surprise, and had not been expected. this time, she said i have a real chance, i can be president. and her campaign has been pushing very much right to that end. she has softened her image. she dropped her extremist rhetoric, not speaking about immigration, islam, or national identity. and president macron has been busy with diplomacy in ukraine. so he came into the campaign very late, which helped her again. >> when you think about her softening that language, as you just mentioned, is that intentional, that's meant to help her win? does she still feel very strongly about her viewpoints from five years ago? >> reporter: it's very much an image thing. when the invasion of ukraine happened, she condemned it but still says putin is a good ally for france and is going ah

le pen is gaining ground. the bbc�*s tim wilcox is in paris and has been explaining what is different for marie le pen at her thirded very hard over the past ten or so years to basic de—demonise the national rally party. you will remember it was her father jean—marie le pen who set up the front national, the national front, here. that was associated with very extreme views on immigration, racist policies, there were jackbooted supporters. now, she has worked very hard this time around to focus on other areas, for example, the cost of living crunch, the economy, but again, there are still policies there which are anti—immigrant. she has been helped a lot this time by another, far more extreme far right candidate, eric zemmour. eric zemmour is a pundit on tv channels here and he has helped detoxify some of the marine le pen message. it's interesting also that emmanuel macron, who came to this race very late officially, now, when he came injust after the beginning of the ukraine war, he was some 20 points ahead of marine le pen. that lead has now dwindled to maybe three or four points. and if she does get through to

le pen victory would mean for ukraine? >> first, i have to remind you, i think your audience that, the party of marie le pen brought a low coatf $10 million from a bank. which is linked to the kremlin. and without macron, during the presidential debates, to tell the pan, putin for you is your banker! and it is a fact. she said that as for the war in ukraine, she would immediately stop the delivery of weapons to ukraine. so, and, i think in the framework of the european union, also, where talking of sanctions on oil and gas. and it is obvious that she will oppose it. she is saying that she will try to work with hungary, and we know that hungary is very close to putin. >> let me ask you finally, because we mention this, that macron said, listen, he obviously wants people to come out and vote. he said there's brexit, the election of donald trump. this matters. people need to come out. what is your feeling right now? what do you think turnout will be? and are you confident of the reelection of emmanuel macron? >> you know, i was the french ambassador in washington when donald trump was elected. so i remember the night of the 8th

busy as we were listening to mary le pen, i just want to tell our viewers around the world that the 40 plus percent that voted for marina pen are not racist french. they are not near fascists. you know, people vote for different reasons in france and they don't all have their hand or their finger on the pulse of the racist distant races that in every single thing that body no pin a said or did or want to do a lot of french people vote because they are desperate because they are unhappy because they are bitter because they lost their jobs because they've tried that the center left the center, right, and this and the liberal macro and they don't find solutions. and they say, look, we've tried everything we might as well try to pen. so people vote for different reasons in this country like people in england, for example, what it for briggs. it's not because they are at racist. it's because they have things on their mind and i think europe and france in particular is in a bit of a malaise. that is a crisis going on in the country, economic, social, political and so on, so forth. and hence,

incumbent president emmanuel macron and his far right challenger marie le pen wrapped up their final campaign events on friday. it's up to voters stoodecide on sunday who will be their next president. but whoever comes out on top the election is expected to have an impact well beyond france. for more on this jim bitterman joins us from paris. where do we stand right now? >> reporter: right now today is what they call a day of reflection here. basically it's a pause in the campaigning sometimes noisy campaigning that's going on for weeks. and until the vote count is announced officially tomorrow night, sunday night at 8:00, in fact there will be no more talking about the polls and the kinds of things we've seen going on every day. so editors here are resorting to, you know, either summaries of the campaign. a figure this morning say it's a decisive choice for france, and they're talking about the kind of issues the french are voting on, those issues that the french have foremost in their minds, the rising costs of living, for example, the environment, and the war in ukraine. all issue

keir simmons is in paris. >> reporter: the populist leader, marie le pen with surging sort from a flagar ii. why do you support marie le pen? for immigration? >> yes. >> she's glorious. >> reporter: she's glorious? >> yes. >> pen was quickly to congratulate president trump in 2016 riding a familiar anti-establishment wave. for the current president, polls suggest he'll hold on to power. listen to how reluctant she is to admit she'll vote for him. >> reporter: the other candidate, not macron. >> no. >> reporter: you don't want to say the name? >> no. because it's not my political -- >> reporter: le pen has focused on the soaring cost of living and posts pictures on social media with her cats. the candidates clashing for the first time on television this week. >> reporter: we watched a vote, they don't like macron and they definitely don't like le pen. >> macron accused her with financial ties to putin and she called him elitist. >> none of them talked about how difficult it is to be a young person in this country. >> reporter: macron fighting for every vote. >> if you vote le pen, you v

but if marie le pen were to win, what would this mean? how close is she to putin?lear in the wake of the invasion that she condemned the invasion, and putin has even cited wart crimes in ukraine, but she has cited things about putin in the past, and has expressed real admiration for him. has said they share similar proposal as and goals. so there is murmur among the european capitals to that this could be a win for putin. >> when you think about nato in the past few weeks, the way we work together, coordinated in unison. with a happy loss if macron didn't stay in power? >> well, it would certainly be a risk. because marie le pen is one of the french politicians in this electoral campaign who have been very critical of nato in the past. in the past, she is suggested that france should leave natal over the past two weeks. she has been a little bit more subtle about the integrated natal command. but it doesn't change the essence of her proposals. she is very much critical of the western alliance, and the victory certainly, would raise a lot of questions about the futu

the nato countries and now you have the french suggesting that there should be a -- as far as marie le pents to have a new relationship with russia. and frankly, in the united states, there are some people pro-putin. it's arer problematic but anything is possible. >> and marie le pen, she's in a tough election, challenging macron and that's in a couple of weeks. in the run-off election. we don't know what power she might have and what vote. this would have to be approved for ratification by two-thirds of the u.s. senate. as you point out, we don't know where the senate is. i want to play something we heard from cia director bill burns, just moments ago. notably, he was the former u.s. ambassador in russia. as well as deputy secretary of state. >> i was the u.s. ambassador in moscow 15 years ago and have watched over the years as putin stewed in a combustible combination of grievance and ambition and insecurity. every day, putin demmen straights that declining powers can be as disruptive as rising ones. >> secretary cohn, that's from our best expert on russia right now. >> he's precisely ri

france heads to the polls, to decide whether emmanuel macron or marie le pen will be its next presidente a look at what this means for the eu's second biggest economy. and the uk ramps up the financial war on russia, by announcing plans to blacklist the moscow stock exchange. let's start with the international monetary fund, which has warned russia's invasion of ukraine is likely to send economic shock waves around the world for years to come. the fund believes the conflict and the on—going effects of the pandemic are likely to lead to lower growth. the imf has cut its global forecast for this year — down almost a whole percentage point, tojust 3.6% for 2022. it's also predicted the russian economy will shrink by 8.5%. and ukraine's economy is expected to contract by more thana third. and the uk will also be hit — the imf forecasts the uk economy will grow by 1.2% next year, which is the slowest out of all g7 nations. our economics editor, faisal islam has more from washington. just as the world appeared to be recovering from the aftermath of the covid pandemic, another unprecedented ec

that would have mary le pen coming on stage, about to make her speech.y hanging around the head of this next parliamentary battle in just a few weeks. guys. >> i know we should be saying so in french so we won't take that. asylum ask you very quickly, charlotte, do you think this is the end of the aspirations for murray le pen to become president of france? it seems she is now lost quite decisively to elections in a row. will the far-right look to find another leader to leave their party? >> that is a very interesting question. she said for the first round that she would not state another election. she has won three times already. she said that you want to do it again. and then another fire came on the political stage. so then the question is, how our political force is going to redesign and regroup around which characters? that is really what is at stake now. the battle starts now for all of these terms. in the far-right, how does this position on the french political stage play? that is what happens with emmanuel macron back in 2017. a huge bang of fre

whose name is marine le pen, his youngest daughter. now, her father, john marie le pen, he ran for president in france five times. he never got close. but his daughter, that's turned out to be a different story. tomorrow she will debate emmanuel macron, the president of france. and it will be their first and only debate of the presidential campaign. and then on sunday, french voters will go to the polls in the runoff election between her and the upcoming president, president macron. it's the second time in five years that she has made it into a presidential run off against him. the last time in 2017, marie le pen's campaign was finance in large part by a 10 million dollar loan from a russian bank. alone that reportedly she never had to repay. although she is lately disputing that. just weeks before the vote in 2017, marine le pen turned up at the kremlin in moscow for a surprise photo op with vladimir putin. at the time, she was pledging that only would france form a whole new alliance with russia if you are elected president, she said at the time that she would

the far right, including marie le pen, has sought closer security cooperation with russia vladimir putinchanged her tune. so to your point, these elections will be important for the u.s. to watch not only because of what our politicians can learn but what they mean for the transatlantic security alliance. >> i don't know how you can keep a security alliance if you have marie le pen sucking up to vladamir putin, doing that on a geopolitical level. but also repressing and prosecuting minorities at home. she may have rebranded her far right supremacist party, but that's what it is. here in the u.s. we're not being tough enough and we expect people to come out and turn out to vote in every election. the young vote, the 18 to 30 vote has dropped drastically for joe biden. democrats need to get -- you know, get onboard with energizing their vote not just saying every few years vote to save democracy. >> yeah, i know. absolutely. stop making promises and not mg promises and not delivering them. good to see my friend, as always great show, enjoy the rest of your evening off my friend. and good e

tightening just a day before the 1st round of voting. whole so far, right challenge, amberley wrote marie le pen rather gather gaining on the current leader emmanuel mccaul was seeking a 2nd 5 year term recall blamed the war in ukraine for his low profile election campaign. only put him back as ends and battle prime minister enron khan has called on his supporters to take to the streets lease, facing a confidence vote in parliament, which he's expected to lose the former cricket star earlier trying to stop the vote was over ruled by judges space excess launch its 1st private flight to the international space station. craft is taking 3 executives from the us, canada, and israel. on a week long trip, the space tourists have each paid $55000000.00 for the ride. after will smith has been banned from the academy awards for 10 years? it's punishment for slapping comedian chris rock at this your ceremony. but smith has not been stripped of the best. asked actor oscar. he also won that night. simon is investigating sanctions violations after confiscating artwork bound for russia. customs officials seize

april here feel that anne marie le pen has indeed managed to depict herself as the candidate closest to the people in it. she's been campaigning through france, from market to market town to town over the past few months, telling people exactly that message that she will help people make ends meet. and that's why her ratings went up over the past few months. but until the 1st on of waiting, that is because after the 1st renovating, have people start to look at her program a bit more closely. and they realize that all these measures she's putting on the table will actually be financed through taking away money from those people. that don't have french nationality and that her overall program is also based on discrimination against non french nationals. so that's why then people actually thought some of them at least thought it might not be such good idea to vote for marina pain. at least when you listen to the polls, the, the current polls as she has gone down again in them. and my call i am on my call. the current president is predicted to win this sunday's election. so she's definit

both the incumbent president, he and his far right opposition. marie le pen fair had been making a final push for votes entering the t. v. stations on friday morning. them. but they not speaking to their cold demographic instead vying for votes from supporters of far left candidate shall new melon, sean, who, when 20 percent in the 1st round on the streets of paris. neither la penn nor mac. ron, are popular with this key group of voters that we haven't had a choice in the 2nd rounds ages. i'll go for the least worse choice. i went to voting for the right or the extreme right. it's become a campaign of style over substance micron attempting to shake off a reputation of arrogance and connect with work and class moses la penn, trying to betray herself as a serious states woman in a tv debate earlier this week, let me macaroni attacked la pen stance on russia. huh? she refuted the accusation. instead, trying to focus on the cost of living is good for did on did you depend on russian power? you depend on mister putin as a few months after saying that, madame le pen, that you took out a loan f

le pens. headquarters. lisa, what did you make of the comments from marine, the pen? well marie le pen, obviously she also wants to gather people around her just like a mom mom, cause she says, the she's the only candidate for france. but when you look at it, she appeals to the sense of nation. really. whereas in my mom, a sense of democracy and that's really the main point of difference between the 2 candidates. even though you could be, you know, people come can criticize of the current president in my call. but when you look at marine the pen, she really wants to come back on the very principles of what friends democracy is. she wants to hold a referendum and she got got to pause. she would hold a referendum asking people to take away some of the basic rights from people that have no french nationality. so, but that would actually go against the principle of equality of human rights. human rights would no longer be valid for everybody that's on the very basis the very idea of human rights. so that's the main difference between the 2 candidates. but obviously both candidates t

the incumbent, emmanuel macron and his far-right challenger, marie le pen. voters will decide on sunday which will be their next president. >> reporter: a final push for votes by both the incumbent centrist globalist, macron, and his opponent, marie le pen, for a media blackout here in france. people can think about how they're going to vote without extra polls or more campaigning, simply time to reflect on a vote that will have profound implications not just for france but beyond its boards, as well. macron proposing more of the same. le pen offering something very different to what macron, the cen centrist, has done so far. wanting to focus more on france, helping those that were stopped, central to her pitch throughout the campaign. you remember all of the anger that spilled out on the streets of france, and protests against the pension reform that the president had proposed. that will now be the center of what she proposes. but there will be impacts for europe, since she is suggesting that there's a softer alliance. and there will be implications for the

his rival mary le pen had promised to define europe's institutions.ns. a position apparently backed by 42% of voters. >> [interpreter] to our french leaders to the european union this result bears witness to the great mistrust of the french people towards them. which they cannot ignore until the widely shared aspirations of great change. >> it's a change of vladimir putin has been backing for years. receiving the far right candidate just ahead of the 2017 french election. and the last week, the russian opposition leader alexei navalny lead in. urging the french to back macron, and describing the russian bank that lent le pen -- as a well-known money laundering agency in a tweet just hours ahead of the french candidate debate. >> [interpreter] you depend on the russian power you depend on mr. putin. >> [interpreter] i am a completely free woman. >> marion le pen insists the loan was a financial arrangement that her party is reimbursing and full. she remains cautious, about further sanctions against moscow. >> pretend the french or other european people

disappointed. disenchanted with him and who were thinking ahead of the 2nd round of even voting for marie le pen or simply abstaining because they can't get themselves to agree with my comment to like him. he really needs to turn that around in the coming 5 years, or the other risk is actually that marina pen will rise further. and some people here tonight have told me, you know, we really need to do something. we don't want her to win next time. around or in 10 years. the u. s. secretary of state anthony blanket and defense secretary lloyd austin, have arrived mtv to meet ukrainian president for america zalinski. he's pushing for more weapons to fight the russian offensive in the south and east. the u. s. has started providing some of the heavier equipment he's been asking for in an orthodox easter message. so lensky told ukrainians to turn their rage against russia into a forced to defeat evil and sell orthodox easter sunday in key. if he's going with president, followed him is a lansky, recorded an easter message from saint sophia cathedral nash's editor spooning our hearts are full of fierce

i challenge marie le pen as gainey on incumbent a manual muck on. he seeking a 2nd term in office. the monument crone is asking voters to back him for another 5 years and power. a few weeks ago, he enjoyed a comfortable lead in the polls. but his fall right challenge a marine le pen has steadily closed again. she's focused her campaign on the cost of living crisis that low to say is that biggest concern, while still promising radical anti immigration policies and barring and upset, she expected to join micron in the run off on april 24th. micron is blaming his own loki campaign on having to focus on the will and ukraine. he still tips to when in the 2nd round, with le pen only narrowly behind and gaining, but with up to a quarter of people thought to still be undecided. and many planning not to vote to tool an upset remains a possibility mcfarlane. his supporters are hoping that back as a fall at firebrand john nick mental show who sits a 3rd place in the poles, will vote for micro in the 2nd round. keep a pen out as many did at the last election in 2017, but this time may be diffe

michael and his far right challenger marie le pen and they've done it again. byron munich, our german champions. once more they landed their 10th buddhist legal title in a row with victory over there, perennial challengers, georgia. ah, i'm nick spicer, welcome to the program ukraine's president volota mil lensky says he's preparing to welcome the highest level us delegation to keith. since russia invaded 2 months ago, the sunday visit by secretary of state antony blinking and defense secretary lloyd austin, comes on the heels of a deadly missile strike on the port city of odessa. so lensky says, an infant was among the 8 people killed. it says the loss of the americans for new weapons to stop a renewed russian onslaught and ukraine, south and east. earlier i asked ruth diamant from the department of war studies at kings college in london, if ukrainian forces have all the weapons they need. i think it's difficult because we'll have to see how free the next phase is pan out. but mostly what we have seen in recent weeks is willingness by the united states to provide weapons to an extrao

, he really needs to turn that around in the coming 5 years or the other risk is actually that marie le pen will rise further and some people here tonight have told me, you know, we really need to do something. we don't want her to win next time around or in 10 years. it's louis that microns election night headquarters at the eiffel tower. thank you very much indeed. and let's get the european perspective and had to brussels, where the w. terry schultz is speaking to us live from many reactions tonight from european leaders there. terry, what caught your eye? certainly, most of the reactions were exuberant. everyone very relieved that a manual cone, a very pro e u. politician, one over marine le pen who is seen as a quite pro russian. that's certainly problematic in the current environment of, of the war on ukraine a but we should also point out that there are politicians remarking, how disturbing it is that she got 40 percent of the vote over 40 percent of the vote. in fact, the speakers in the european parliament range from a man for deborah who's head of the largest political group, the

contact with putin and ftalk him into a cease fire in some negotiation. >> it was interesting because mary le pened up to vote for her. support for le pen was substantial, do you read anything into these results? >> i think it mirrors who we experienced last year and at least, you know, for a moment, you know, for the united states last year for france this year, you know, there was a kind of a sober recognition that you need a tested leader and i think there was a major decision by the french, you know, people and everyone is breathing a sigh of le relief. >> yeah. thank you, good to see you, be well. >> all right don, take care. >>> the world's richest man, elon musk purchasing twitter today for reported $44 billion he says it's all about free speech, but is it? ( ♪ ) ( ♪ ) you're a printer, you're supposed to print! ugh! i mean is it the cartridges? i don't know! magenta! magenta! do you suffer from cartridge conniptions? be conniption-free, thanks to the cartridge-free epson ecotank printer. big ink tanks, a ridiculous amount of ink! and a set of replacement bottles are equal to about 80 cart

what we should point out is marie le pen is no longer a french extremist candidate. forces are alive and well in the united states and in europe and even though macron won decisively, her margin has grown and that has to be. >> narrowly. >> ac knowledge and recognized. so i leave you with that. >> yeah. >> these forces are still at play on both sides of the pot. >> it depends on who you were running against. he was running against marie le pen. clearly, the french people were not embureaucracying that. joe biden, if he's running against donald trump again? who knows? that might help joe biden tremendously. american people may not want to go back to the trump years. can i go on and on. >>> an iconic movie costume is hitting the auction block after a trip somewhere over the rainbow. the blue begingham dress dorothy wore, it was rediscovered last year in a shoe box. that's unbelievable. at the complk university of america in washington, d.c. it was worn by garland when she faces the wicked witch of the west at the end of the movie. it's expected to fetch as much as $1.2

so the step plea to jean-marie le pen its advantage?> you are right to point out that it is a re-run of 2017, in many ways, in so far that those two candidates will face off on april 24th. but the difference is that five years on from that political experiment that eludes, to what he has shown by getting 20% in the first one is that essentially he has consolidated that position in the center. but the far, the extremes, have a swell consolidated. they're so not just jean-marie le pen, who, also scored a buddy -- but also the man who outflanked her and more than 50% of the french electorate voting for extreme candidates. and so it is a very intense new round that begins now. a new campaign that's ahead for the two weeks that looks very bitter and looks to be one of the closest races that we have seen in a very long time. have a listen to what the two winning candidates had to say at their campaign headquarters leslie. >> [interpreter] i want to france which inscribed itself in a stronger. which continues to form alliances with great democ

president rival, marie le pen. had between the fight between autocracy and democracy? >> well, this is a critical election because clearly there is not just a difference of philosophy or how to govern france. there's a fundamental difference about how france should act in the world. marie le pen is not a particularly pro-european, pro-eu politician. she wants to withdraw france from the military integrated command in nato. of course, she's closely aligned with vladamir putin, having received money some years ago for her party. her election is not just a blow to france, because this is a far-right politician, anti-immigrant, very close to putin, as i said. it would have major implications for europe, and the ability of the west, which has been so united, to remain united in the focus of ukraine. it would be a real blow. the good news is that macron was ahead, in fact, by a larger margin than he was five years ago, so hopefully the people of france will deliver the verdict that not only the french but the rest of the

same surname, le pen, this is the fifth in 20 years and three of them have had somebody called le pen. and if she is elected, _ she has already said to a belgian newspaper that jean marieof . le pen will be in power! if macron wins the second round next month, he cannot run again five years later. what happens then? because unless he will magic up some kind of success... this five year timeline, three years ago it was covid and six months ago... i think five years, that is the long run. look, i don't know. i think that parties do revive. and i don't follow socialist politics in france the way i did when i was going over at the very end of the president's rule. it happens, but they also provide a framework, starting something from scratch, which is happy now, emmanuel macron came up with nothing and just invented a party, and that's unusual, and i'm not sure that is sustainable without a charismatic leader. it's not sustainable _ but the new generation of voters who are putting macron opposite le pen are saying, _ we don't want to vote. they have lost faith in the whole political system? and they are playing with fire, certainly, but they are not - as interested in part

good evening, everyone, we beginning truthout in france where emmacon emerged over the fascist marie le pen. his victory was never quarantined, but as 8:00 p.m. rolled on macron was declared the clear winner with roughly 58% of the vote. le pep's loss despite effectively clawing her way to the top by soft anything her politics and re-branding her party was a direct rebuke to the growing ethnonationalism spreading throughout the country. take a look at hungary where viktor orban was re-elections after turning hungary into a white christian state that bans gay marriage and attacks liberal institutions, the press and controls the judiciary system. it should come as no surprise that le pen has received the backing of not just russian banks but of trump's most slovenly supporter, steve bannon, who was an active opponent of democracy. with all that said, le pen's loss is' resounding victory for democracy and for the french people who despite deep frustrations with the president shows democracy over extremism. the same unfortunately cannot be said here in america where the modern republican party

. >> the french election goes down to two, emmanuel macron and mari le pen. head-to-head in the final round of the presidency. ♪ let's begin with the war in ukraine. the austrian chancellor has become the first eu leader to hold a meeting with president putin's the russian invasion. he described the talks as open and direct. have a listen. >> i generally have no optimistic impression that i can report to you from this conversation with president putin. the offensive in eastern ukraine is evidently being prepared on a massive scale which is why i made clear that a stable access with the international red cross is needed. >> on the agenda at the meeting, the issue of alleged war crimes in ukraine. this comes as the horrors are being uncovered in air is by ukrainian forces in the north. in particular we have heard stories of violence against women and soldiers using rape as a weapon of war. our correspondent has been speaking to some of those affected and the vivid ascriptions of abuse you may find distressing. >> a quiet neighborhood shattered by barbaric viole

it was either surviving europe with my crown, or leave in france with mary le pen. the choice was crystal clear for me, concierge. i think there is an important choice to be made to day. on the one hand, we have a president, that is what it is. and on the other hand, a woman who does not share the same values of democracy. so we must vote against her brothers before somali of another without democracy, think everybody can feel that we are in trouble times are in the world, in friends. so it's important to remember that if we have our one duty and one rights is the rights micron has struggled to shake off a perception, he's aloof. the label president of the rich a stock that's even though data shows all but the poorest 5 percent of french households a better off than they were 5 years ago. the pan has focused on the rising cost of living, one of the main concerns of french voters. she says she'll prioritize french citizens over immigrants for public housing and jobs. and la pan has played down her promise to ban muslim women from wearing had scarves in public. this i

casting ballots in the runoff between incumbent emanuel michael and his far right. challenger marie le pen and they've done it again. byron munich, our german champions, once more.

political scene in - france of the national front, now known as rassemblement national, and jean—marie le . pento have a voice - because of the change in voting system by the socialist president _ i remember it very well — i was a teenager when i the national front got 35 mps in the national assembly — i and instead of trying to find i out what it meant and perhaps grapple with the issue, because it was also - the eruption of the secondl generation of north african immigrants — who were french, who were not passing visitors —| who wanted to talk about racism and multiculturalism, _ and jacques chirac, - the right—wing president, or prime minister with mitterrand. i not a marriage made in heaven! you thought about changing no more proportional. - he just wanted to sweep the far—right problem i under the carpet. so, they haven't really had a voice — i mean, i very few mps. but the problem has not left, and it is the third time - that we are faced with this. very stark choice of electing a democrat, whether it's on the right or left doesl not matter, he's. a democrat and... and a demagogue, would

he was in the lead. marie le pen was behind him, but she kept no do the leg work, leg work. she went from town to town, from market to market and talked to people, telling them that she was the candidate place to the. but she was worried about their day to day to day worries and mason about spending on that. she would help them get through get by and make ends meet. now what then happened was the war in ukraine started and that 1st course of course, the so called flag a fact that's that means that people rallied around the leader in times of crisis not call went up even further in the polls marina and went down a bit and it seemed really like a done deal, but that flag had waned, waned after a few weeks really. and what then happened was that a man my call he did not enter the campaign and that was his big mistake. he thought it is a done deal. it wasn't a done deal. he went down the post because people felt that he was too far away from, you know, from people reality. they felt he was doing an international drop, but not being a national leader. meanwhile, marina pen contin

the bbc�*s tim wilcox is in paris and has been explaining what is diffrent for marie le pen at her thirdnal rally party, you will remember it was her fatherjeanmarie le pen who said the excess the national frontier which was associated with very extreme views on immigration, and they are aware of supporters. she has worked very hard to focus on other areas. but the economy still has policies there which are anti—immigrant. she has been helped a lot this time by another, far more extreme far right candidate, who is a pundit on tv channels here and he has helped detoxify some of the marine le pen message, and it's interesting also that immanuel macron, who came to this place very late —— emmanuel macron, just at the beginning of the ukraine war, was 20 points ahead of marine le pen and then delete has now dwindled to maybe three or four points, and if she does get through to the second round, which is what happened in 2017, a lot of under have said it could be tight and let me explain why it not only you have a far right much of the far left here, a 70—year—old in his third attempt at it a

president emmanuel macron�*s lead over his main challenger, the far—right leader marie le pen has fallen

purchase of a $120.00 foot yacht fridge, president, emanuel micron and his far white challenger marie le pen are making a final push for votes before sundays president will run off. polls show the race is much tighter than 5 years ago when french voters faced the same choice. the micron is expected to when many people say they are undecided or ambivalent. the candidates are taking nothing for grant. his campaign slogan might be all of us, but it's not clear enough. a france will be with emanuel micron at the ballot box on sunday. layla hose, both the incumbent president, he and his far right opposition. marine la pen fair had been making a final push for votes entering the t v. stations on friday morning them. but they're not speaking to their cold demographic. instead vying for votes from supporters of far left candidate shall new melon, sean, who went 20 percent in the 1st round on the streets of paris. neither le, pen nor micron are popular with this key group of voters that we haven't had a choice in the 2nd rounds ages. i'll give the least worse choice. i went voting for the right or th

address to support says, very shortly this after we have some early projections that he will face marie le pen in the 2nd round of frances presidential iran election. in terms of the figures, he's on about 28 percent, le pen on 24 percent in the 1st round of voting. and of course that both had of the fall of counter jones and i'll show with 20 percent. but the interesting thing about this vote is that does seem to suggest that marine le pen has performed quite well. she is obviously a little bit behind her arrival, emanuel micron. but there is a lot of enthusiasm in her camp that she could be closer than ever before at to the french presidency. and also following all of this is out there is but as kindness moran sharp, shara and up moran. i'm just looking at this poll here on reuters, and if pop polls saying, but micron would when the 2nd round of the french presidential election with 51 percent of the vote. course we can see these images of his supports is celebrating . but this contest is far from over. absolutely. and you know, we are still talking about being too close to the margin of err

runoff between incumbent a menu and michael was vying for a 2nd term and his far right, challenger marie le pen.

through the day to night in 2 weeks. france could have a new president, a far right. president marie le pen. it could happen. things in park to russian. money will explain after the break. ah with ah ah a revolution on the street really thinking urban via a p city steering to leave the way ah, you are cars, more security, greener spaces and happier, healthier people. read in 60 minutes on d w ah. making the stand behind them dw news africa the show that was the issues have been the continent. life is slowly getting back to normally on the streets to give you enough reports on the inside of our cars. find that was on the ground reporting from across the continent. all the trains doesn't matter to you. t w is africa every friday, only w ah, i think everything jenny inc fair, some are a big, i'm listening so much different culture between here and there. so challenging for everything. ah, finish on this. i think it was worth it for me to come to germany shop my got my license to work as a swimming instructor dish and now i teach children adults with what's your story? take part, share it on in