[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The whole world is eager to catch the contest between the centrist Macron and far-right leader Le Pen.

French presidential candidates Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen will share the stage in a final televised on Wednesday which is expected to be bitter and decisive ahead of voting this weekend.

The centrist Macron and far-right leader Le Pen the leader of National Front Party came first and second in the first round of voting on April 23 this year.

Their sharp views on Europe, immigration, the economy and French identity will be open and face-to-face for the first time, after a week marked by brutal ideological clashes between them.

Surveys and opinion polls show Macron holding a mild but decisive lead of 59 against 41 per cent, but the former debates always has swiftly shifted the publicly opinion.

“Our goal is to avoid being dragged into mud-slinging,” an aide to Macron was quoted as saying by AFP.

The event marks a way into the mainstream for Le Pen’s party, which was long considered as an outfit of racists that should be boycotted. When Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie made it into the final round of 2002 presidential elections, his opponent Jacques Chirac had refused to debate him out of “normalising hate and intolerance”.

Le Pen scored 21.3 per cent of votes in the first round of elections on April 23 after successfully softening the Front’s image but the doubt about their core beliefs remains.

She has successfully portrayed her opponent as a continuation of the unpopular Socialist President Francois Hollande and a supporter of globalization, financial sector and immigration.

“If he finds himself in difficulty, he can always ask Francois Hollande to come and hold his hand. I won’t complain,” tweeted Le Pen on Tuesday, with her signature.

With Macron ahead in the polls, the televised debate in front of millions will help Marine to impress or induce an error by her opponent that could change the election verdict in her favour.

A former economy minister under Hollande, Macron is expected to be wary of making mistakes but has indicated that he is ready to take on Le Pen and challenge her “dangerous ideas” to curb the country’s deep economic and social problems.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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