France’s place in Europe has taken centre stage in the presidential election race as far-right leader Marine Le Pen denied suggestions from Emmanuel Macron’s camp that she would steer the country out of the European Union.
Allies of the president said Ms Le Pen’s policies would amount to a “Frexit” in all but name by restoring border checks, reversing economic integration and cutting France’s payments into EU coffers.
They sought to rally support behind the pro-European Mr Macron as the two candidates scramble for votes in the April 24 run-off, with 17 million ballots up for grabs from voters who supported other candidates in the first round.
Ms Le Pen denied a hidden agenda to leave the EU but says she wants to turn the 27-member bloc into a looser alliance and a “Europe of free and sovereign nations”.
Whoever wins the April 24 run-off will take on a leading role in guiding the EU’s response to the war in Ukraine, especially because France holds the rotating presidency of the European Council until July.
Mr Macron’s camp has seized on a record of Kremlin-friendly remarks by Ms Le Pen to portray her as unfit to take on such a prominent international role at a time of hostility with Russia.
Ms Le Pen, an ally of other Eurosceptic leaders such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has sought to distance herself from Russian President Vladimir Putin since the war broke out.
Although Ms Le Pen has backed away from seeking a referendum on France’s EU membership, as she did in a previous presidential campaign, Mr Macron said on Wednesday that “the true face of the far right” remained unchanged.
Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, a spokesman for Mr Macron’s party in parliament, said Ms Le Pen, who has spoken approvingly of Britain's withdrawal from the EU had a “hidden project of leaving Europe”.
“She doesn’t tell the truth to the French,” Mr Anglade said. “I don’t know any club where you can take part without paying your contributions.”
Another pro-Macron figure, Foreign Trade Minister Franck Riester, said Ms Le Pen’s policies would amount to the end of the EU’s single market.
Ms Le Pen, the nominee of the National Rally party, insisted she had “no hidden project “and told voters to read her 36-page election manifesto.
The manifesto does not propose a unilateral Frexit but says the EU should be “gradually substituted” with a looser alliance of nations, “bringing an end” to the idea of a federal Europe.
It calls for a referendum on an immigration overhaul proposed by Ms Le Pen in which new arrivals would be curbed, migrants more easily deported and foreign countries pressured to repatriate their nationals.
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Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, at an election night event after voting in the first round of the French presidential election, in Paris. Bloomberg -
Emmanuel Macron at a rally in Paris after the first round of voting in the French presidential election as early exit polls suggested victory. Getty Images -
Mr Macron after partial results were declared in the first round of the 2022 French presidential election. Reuters -
Supporters in Paris cheer Mr Macron at a rally after the first-round vote. Getty Images -
Marine Le Pen, centre, of the French far-right party Rassemblement National, and supporters after the first round of voting. AFP -
Supporters cheer in Paris as exit polls indicated Mr Macron would win the election. Getty Images -
The French leader acknowledges his supporters at a rally in Paris. Getty Images -
Eric Zemmour, candidate of the far-right Reconquete! party, waves to supporters after voting ended in the first round of the French presidential election. AFP -
Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen delivers a speech at her election day headquarters in Paris. AP -
Supporters of Mr Zemmour as preliminary results of the first round of the presidential election were announced in Paris. AP -
Ballots for the first round of the presidential election are counted in Marseille, southern France. AP -
French President Emmanuel Macron, who was seeking re-election, accompanied by his wife Brigitte, greets people at a polling station in Le Touquet-Paris, France. EPA -
Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen casts her ballot at a polling station in Henin-Beaumont, northern France. AFP -
A sign indicates where to vote at a polling station, in Le Touquet-Paris. Bloomberg -
A voter wearing a robe and slippers arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in Reims, north-eastern France. AFP -
French citizens living in India arrive to cast their votes at France's consulate general, in the region of Pondicherry. AFP -
A man votes in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. AP -
Presidential candidate of the far-right DLF party, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, casts his ballot in Yerres, south-east of Paris. AFP -
The French ecologist party EELV's presidential candidate, Yannick Jadot, takes ballots before voting at a polling station in Paris. AFP -
Far-right candidate Eric Zemmour votes in Paris. AP -
A polling station worker checks voters turnout by hour at a polling station in Marseille. EPA -
A voter inside a voting booth in Paris. AP -
Mayor of Paris and presidential candidate Anne Hidalgo votes at a polling station in the French capital. EPA -
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, centre, greets an electoral officer at a polling station in Paris. AFP -
The presidential candidate of the LFI party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, casts his ballot at a polling station in Marseille. EPA
Ms Le Pen also wants to renegotiate the visa-free Schengen agreement, reverse integration into a common European electricity market and, separately from the EU’s institutions, pull France out of Nato’s joint military command.
Mr Macron also wants to reform Schengen but has championed France’s voice in Brussels and used his European Council presidency to project leadership on the international stage.
His pro-European stance helped win him an endorsement from former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who said Mr Macron’s experience was needed at a time of international crisis.
The president’s “European commitment is clear and unambiguous,” said Mr Sarkozy, from the centre-right Republican party whose candidate Valerie Pecresse was eliminated in the first round.
Mr Macron dismissed suggestions on Wednesday that the endorsement from Mr Sarkozy, an influential figure on the right despite his legal troubles, was part of any wider political agreement.
French media had speculated that Mr Sarkozy might have offered support to the president before legislative elections in June that could lead to Mr Macron’s party losing its majority in parliament.
But Mr Macron told France 2 television that although he would try to rally the support of political forces that don't “totally share my views”, there was no agreement with Mr Sarkozy.
