French presidential hopefuls lock horns for first debate

Seven of the leading candidates in the increasingly tight and crowded race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron clashed on Thursday in their first debate, eight months ahead of the election.

The candidates, spanning the hard left to far right, agreed that France was facing economic trouble.

But at Paris's Roland Garros complex, more used to hosting clashes between the world's top tennis stars than debates between politicians, they differed wildly over how to combat the country's problems.

Marine Le Pen, seeking the presidency at her fourth attempt and riding high in the polls, announced her far-right National Rally (RN) party would present a 125 billion euro ($146 billion) cost-cutting plan.

But hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon urged business leaders to "raise wages" to prevent France from "falling into recession".

Centrist hopeful Edouard Philippe, a former premier under Macron, accused Melenchon of seeking to "burn" France's debt and take steps that would "result in France being shut out of the banking system".

The debate comes fewer than eight months ahead of the 2027 election to choose France's new leader, with centrist incumbent Macron having served the maximum two consecutive terms.

Given France's two-round election system, there is growing concern that a plethora of candidates on the centre, centre-left, centre-right and right could split the moderate vote in the first round.

This could send Le Pen and Melenchon into a run-off devoid of the traditional parties.

A new poll this week by Ifop-Fiducial projected that hard-left Melenchon could make the second round against Le Pen, who is far ahead in polls for the first round.

On the centre, two of Macron's former prime ministers in Philippe and Gabriel Attal are both campaigning hard, with neither wanting to give way for the other.

The campaign on the left has been galvanised by the entry of the centre-left former commentator-turned-MEP Raphael Glucksmann, who intends to take part in a primary with the Socialist Party in October to find the best candidate.

Glucksmann also took part in the debate, along with Bruno Retailleau of the right-wing Republicans (LR) and Greens leader Marine Tondelier.