For 1h30, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella, head of the National Rally list, stormed out of the European Union a few days before the European elections. What happened ? What issues were discussed? The punchline of the debate? We’ll give you the recap.
Who won ?
This is the big question in every political debate. Here we give you the opinion of our political journalist Rachel Garrat-Valcarcel: “Overall, the debate was not exciting, a little better in the last 20 minutes. But if we have to count the “good streaks” of both, Gabriel Attal undoubtedly led. It worked well on the double border but also on the RN’s changes of footing in Europe.
Let’s still note Bardella’s good streak on Russia. But overall the head of the RN list succeeded in some attacks and above all in holding back. In the battle of egos, the head of the RN list has, as we have said, several times asked the Prime Minister to be superior, the arrogance was clearly on the RN side. »
What issues were discussed?
Be careful, we are in a rather technical debate, Europe obliges. The themes covered were the single market, customs duties, electric vehicles, and finally the two behemoths, immigration and defense.
It is on this last theme that the candidates struggled the most. “Your party, that of Marine Le Pen and Jean-Marie Le Pen, needed money. Russia needed a party in Europe precisely to weaken Europe from within,” attacked Gabriel Attal, who was quite offensive throughout the debate. And “even though you have repaid your debt, you have a moral contract with them”. A good summary of his performance: yes, he hit the mark several times but without knowing how to deliver the blow or having delivered a truly significant blow.
Bardella’s response: “It’s not at the level of the Prime Minister of France to have arguments so under his belt.” So yes, it’s not the punchline of the century, but it clearly illustrates the MEP’s plan this evening. Defensive but critical of his opponent’s blows. Gabriel Attal’s “naiveté” has often been mentioned, particularly on immigration.
OK, we were bored, but isn’t there a punchline?
On the Gabriel Attal side, we admit to having raised an eyebrow of interest in this monotony with his “You are weak with the strong and strong with the weak” on the subject of Bardella’s foreign policy.
For Jordan Bardella, the RN MEP had gained the upper hand in the first moments of the debate before going on the defensive. It read “Europe is the sick man of developed economies”, followed by a wish to “move from total free trade to fair trade”, before his criticism of the debate: “We must put an end to the time of naivety . »