EU must reform or face Frexit: Macron
French presidential front-runner Emmanuel Macron has warned that the European Union must reform or face Frexit, the Daily Mail reported.
Polls predict the pro-EU 39-year-old, a former economy minister, will win the May 7 run-off against far-right leader Marine Le Pen with about 59-60 per cent.
But the momentum has recently been with Le Pen, who has clawed back about five percentage points over the past week. Macron, looking to maintain his 20 per cent lead on his rival, this morning warned the EU must reform or face a Brexit-style vote.
He told the BBC: ‘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.
‘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.’
Allowing the EU to continue to operate as it does currently would be a ‘betrayal’, he added.
‘And I don’t want to do so. Because the day after, we will have a Frexit or we will have [Ms Le Pen’s] National Front (FN) again.’
A week before the decisive second round in France’s presidential election, many voters are sceptical that either of the two candidates can solve chronic unemployment or tackle security concerns, a poll published on Sunday found.
The Ifop survey for the Journal du Dimanche highlights two key battlegrounds as centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right opponent Marine Le Pen enter a final week of campaigning – France’s economy and borders.
Polls predict that Macron, a former economy minister, will win the May 7 run-off with about 59-60 percent. But the momentum has recently been with Le Pen, who has clawed back about five percentage points over the past week.
