French President Emmanuel Macron has come under strong criticism for warning that a far-right or hard-left win in snap polls could spark a "civil war", with his opponents urging him not to scare the public.
On Monday, President Macron told the podcast "Generation Do It Yourself" that the manifesto of the National Rally (RN) party – which election pollsters put in first place – and their solutions to deal with fears over crime and immigration were based upon "stigmatisation or division".
"I think that the solutions given by the far right are out of the question, because it is categorising people in terms of their religion or origins and that is why it leads to division and to civil war," he told the podcast.
Macron made the same criticism of the France Unbowed (LFI) extreme left-wing party, which forms part of the New Popular Front coalition.
💬 "Je l'ai trouvé très combatif"
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) June 25, 2024
Matthieu Stefani revient sur l'attitude d'Emmanuel Macron pendant l'interview sur son podcast "Génération Do It Yourself" pic.twitter.com/tkaXGjdh60
Polarising ballot
France is preparing to vote on Sunday in the country's most polarising ballot in decades. Macron called the parliamentary polls after the far-right National Rally scored a runaway victory in European Parliament elections earlier this month.
The election is shaping up as a showdown between the far-right RN and the left-wing New Popular Front, which is dominated by the hard-left France Unbowed.
Macron's warning that the programmes of the two "extremes" could spark a "civil war" led the leaders of both left and right to condemn his remarks.
Eric Ciotti, the leader of the conservative Republicans (LR) – who sparked outrage among allies by personally agreeing an election pact with the RN – accused the French president of being irresponsible.
"This is a strategy of fear," he said, speaking on BFMTV.
RN heavyweight Marine Le Pen said Macron's argument was "weak" and showed "he thinks he's lost this election".
Fighting for survival
Patrick Kanner, head of the Socialists in the Senate, said Macron's remarks showed he was fighting for his political survival.
"We are faced with someone who no longer controls anything," he said.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the head of France Unbowed, also criticised Macron, saying: "He's always there to set things on fire."
This comes as the three main camps – left, far-right and centre – are set for a key TV debate on Tuesday evening.
It will pit Prime Minister Gabriel Attal from Macron's centrist Renaissance party against far-right RN party leader Jordan Bardella and Manuel Bompard of the left-wing New Popular Front.
Some polls have suggested the RN could win 35 to 36 percent in the first-round vote on Sunday, ahead of the left-wing alliance on 27 to 29 percent and Macron's centrists coming third on 19 to 22 percent.
A second round of voting will follow on 7 July in constituencies where no candidate has taken more than 50 percent in the first round.
