French election: Le Pen impresses but Macron holds firm in TV debate

The first sign that everyone in France will have been looking out for in the debate was whether Marine Le Pen would again be as cringingly awful as she was five years ago.

That was when - in the equivalent pre-election encounter with Emmanuel Macron - she was shown to be clueless on key economic subjects, grappled constantly with over-voluminous notes, and to cover her growing embarrassment resorted to strange and off-putting laughter.

She was so traumatised by her poor performance then that she has never since looked at or listened to a recording of it.

The good news for her supporters is that Marine Le Pen can now put the 2017 debacle behind her.

In three hours of argument, she showed a far greater grasp of her dossiers. She spoke fluently, and sometimes got the last word in over President Macron. And she had some good lines like "we were told you were the Mozart of the economy, Mr Macron, but your record is abysmal".

In short, her coaching paid off.

Marine Le Pen's aim was to drive home the image that she has cultivated throughout the campaign: that of a woman who understands the concerns of ordinary French citizens - their basic "good sense", to use her phrase - as opposed to the airy-fairy pretensions of the wealth-obsessed Emmanuel Macron.

Mr Macron is no longer an outsider - and he had to defend his record

On the cost of living, she was the one proposing big cuts in VAT on fuel and basic goods, and an end to income tax on the under-30s.

On the EU, she was the one calling for root-and-branch reform so that France could start defending its own interests in a Europe of nation states.

On law and order, she was the one making an unambiguous link between "massive anarchic immigration" and crime; and she was the one calling for the expulsion of illegal immigrants and foreign convicted felons.

And on the Islamic headscarf - which she confusingly calls the veil - she was the one saying it should be banned in all public spaces, prompting Emmanuel Macron to state unambiguously that this would usher in "civil war."

Indeed, the problem for Marine Le Pen was that for every proposition there was an answer, not to say a contradiction.

• French rivals for presidency clash in TV debate

• Macron: From political outsider to president

• Far-right Le Pen's long quest for power in France

• French election: A really simple guide

Though the far-right candidate was certainly far better than before on facts and figures, she was still no match for the president.

Over and again, he could be seen interrupting with "no, that's not true", or "your figures are wrong Madame Le Pen" or correcting her on some point of detail.

More than once, he noted that her own MPs or MEPs had voted against changes she now appeared to support.

The president's difficulty was that unlike in 2017, he is now defending a record in office.

It meant that when asked what he planned for a second mandate, he had to stick to the unexciting option of continuity. His opponent could make hay with attacks on the inevitable failures of five years in government.

And yet, the president never gave the feeling he was not on solid ground. His attacks on Marine Le Pen over the Russian loan, over Europe and over the Islamic headscarf all hit home.

Marine Le Pen has changed some of her positions - and crucially, prepared carefully for the debate

On the economy, he argued forcefully that his already-enacted proposals for protecting the French from inflation - a cap on fuel prices and tax exemption for pay bonuses - were both fairer and more effective than Madame Le Pen's ideas.

And in the main, he avoided the trap of coming over as too arrogant or technocratic. Often, he gave the impression of wanting to launch himself more strongly against his opponent but of holding himself back.

Who won?

Some commentators are saying it is clearly Mr Macron, because Ms Le Pen - though more impressive than five years ago - still failed to haul herself up to the status of presidentiable.

Others are saying she overcompensated for her unconvincing aggressiveness last time round - and was too defensive this time.

Supporters of either side will probably feel their champion won. In which case, the president remains the favourite to win.