French Election 2022: Macron accuses Le Pen of secret ‘Frexit’ plan
French president Emmanuel Macron has accused his right-wing rival Marine Le Pen of a secret ‘Frexit’ plan.
The head of state made his comments as polls predicted a tight race for the top job, which comes to a head on 24 April.
Speaking at a rally in eastern France, he said Le Pen is disguising language about a “people’s initiative referendum” on the Europe, as a bid to take the country out of the EU.
Macron accused her of pursuing policies based in “nationalism is war”, saying that if she came into power, France would be viewed like Hungary, “where rights are meticulously and progressively reduced”, and it would be in a “strange club” of authoritarian states.
Le Pen has previously stated a desire to follow Britain out of the EU, with Macron claiming she “wants to leave but she does not dare say so”.
The president also compared his rival to former US President Donald Trump, saying “she wanted to treat everyone with hydroxychloroquine” during Covid and “wanted to vaccinate everyone with a Russian vaccine that the World Health Organisation said was inefficient.”