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France’s Macron unveils priorities as race tightens

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PARIS: French presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron detailed his priorities on Sunday for his first few months in office if elected, as polls showed the unpredictable race tightening just two weeks before voting.


Macron, 39, told the Journal de Dimanche newspaper one of his first measures would be to pass a law setting new ethical standards for parliament, followed by related legislation that will cut the number of MPs by a third.


He also foresees a visit to Berlin and a tour of European capitals to drum up support for his plan to deepen economic integration in the euro zone, create a European border force and put in place greater protections for European industry.


Asked about a slight fall in support according to recent surveys, the independent centrist replied: “They show exactly what I feel: that nothing is decided yet. We are entering a crucial phase.”


Elsewhere on Sunday, his main rivals far-right leader Marine Le Pen and scandal-hit rightwinger Francois Fillon were seeking to persuade the roughly 30 per cent of voters who are yet to make their minds up.


Analysts say the widely-watched election remains extremely unpredictable after a rollercoaster campaign.


Fillon will hold what could be one of his largest rallies so far in southern Paris later in the afternoon, with the defiant ex-prime minister convinced he can still win despite a series of damaging revelations about his finances.


“Everything that doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he told a cheering crowd in Clermont-Ferrand in central France on Friday.


Le Pen and her closest allies will hit the airwaves in a series of interviews intended to sway voters tempted by her vision of a nationalist France, unburdened by the European Union and the euro currency.


The latest poll published late on Saturday confirmed shifting momentum seen earlier this week following a second and final televised debate between the 11 candidates vying to be France’s next leader. — AFP


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