French presidential election 217: Macron does not rule out Frexit, says EU must reform
Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron stated that the European Union must reform and that he does not rule out the prospect of Frexit, according to a BBC report.
The font-runner in the French presidential election made the comments while he and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen enter the last week of campaigning.
Frexit has been a steady theme during the presidential campaign for Le Pen who has capitalised on the anti-EU feeling, especially in the rural and former industrial areas of the country. The candidate of the National Front promised a referendum on France’s EU membership and harsher rules for immigration if she won the presidency.
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Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron who has campaigned on a pro-EU platform has nuanced his tone before the final polls on Sunday.
“I’m a pro-European, I defended constantly during this election the European idea and European policies because I believe it’s extremely important for French people and for the place of our country in globalisation,” Mr Macron, leader of the recently created En Marche! movement.
Macron said that the European Union is in need of a reform so that France avoids the prospect of Frexit.
“But at the same time we have to face the situation, to listen to our people, and to listen to the fact that they are extremely angry today, impatient and the dysfunction of the EU is no more sustainable.
“So I do consider that my mandate, the day after, will be at the same time to reform in depth the European Union and our European project,” added the candidate of En Marche.
Macron added that if he were to allow the EU to continue to function as it was would be a “betrayal”.
“And I don’t want to do so,” he said. “Because the day after, we will have a Frexit or we will have [Ms Le Pen’s] National Front (FN) again.”
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Macron, who is leading in the latest poll by 20 percentage points, has been trying to focus on his appeal as a future-oriented innovator and pro-business candidate at a modern convention centre science complex in Paris.
Le Pen will take her case as “the people’s candidate” to the working-class suburb of Villepinte.
Traditional May Day protests are expected in France. Trade unions will take to the streets to urge voters to block the National Front, while Jean-Marie Le Pen, the party’s founder, will lead another march.
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