- Asia, the world's economic engine, prepares for Trump shock
- Cuba says it made arrests after protests over hurricane blackout
- Cavaliers stay unbeaten after comeback win over Nets
- Trump completes swing state sweep by taking Arizona
- Messi and Miami eliminated from MLS Cup playoffs in first round
- Trump victory poses challenges for the Fed's independence
- US farmers gird for trade wars on Trump tariff pledges
- Balinese hope construction freeze can tame tourism
- Economic woes sour prospects for China's dairy farmers
- Two months on, post-Olympic blues grip Paris
- McSweeney wins race to open for Australia against India
- Mauritius votes in close-fought election race
- Award-winning writer absent from major Algerian book fair
- Egyptians exhume the dead as historic cemetery razed
- NBA Jazz get second win despite big night for Wemby
- Salt peppers West Indies as England romp to T20 win
- 'Hungry' Dupont stars in France's win over Japan
- Liverpool sink Villa to open up five-point Premier League lead
- Lee, Barcola star as PSG stay six points clear of Monaco in Ligue 1
- Man City beaten again at Brighton as Liverpool move five points clear
- McSweeney set to open for Australia against India
- France skipper Dupont delights on return in Japan stroll
- Man City can't compete for 90 minutes admits shell-shocked Guardiola
- Liverpool open up five-point Premier League lead
- Juventus win derby to move into top three, AC Milan held in thriller
- Catherine, Princess of Wales, steps up return to work at UK memorial event
- Qatar suspends Gaza mediation, in sign of impasse
- Pelicans lose Williamson indefinitely to hamstring strain
- Afghanistan says to attend UN climate talks, first since Taliban takeover
- Tens of thousands march in Spain over handling of deadly floods
- Schmidt elated by 'aerial freak' Suaalii as Australia edge England
- AC Milan drop points in thrilling draw at Cagliari
- EU vows 'unwavering' support for Ukraine after Trump win
- Argentina put Italy to the sword
- Man City beaten again at Brighton to open door to Liverpool
- Guardiola suffers four successive defeats for first time as Brighton rock Man City
- Gauff fights back to beat Zheng for WTA Finals title
- Musiala sends Bayern ahead as rivals stumble
- Bangladesh outspin Afghanistan to level ODI series
- Monaco claim comeback win to retake second spot in Ligue 1
- 'Way too far': Amsterdam in shock after 'frightening' violence
- Bonzi fells Norrie in Metz for first ATP title
- Biden, Trump to meet at White House ahead of historic return
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- Vinicius treble as Real Madrid crush Osasuna, Villarreal rise
- A 'jungle': Rome's teeming jail lays bare Italy's prison ills
- Asalanka knock seals four-wicket Sri Lanka win over New Zealand
- Australia beat England 42-37 in Twickenham thriller
- Wolves end wait for Premier League win, Man City aim to snap losing streak
- Gaza mediator Qatar bows out, source says, in sign of impasse
French presidential debate: pivotal campaign moment
The live televised presidential debate Wednesday between President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen is set to be a crucial moment in a tight race for the Elysee.
The pair will trade blows from 1900 GMT in a clash set to be watched by millions of French nationwide ahead of the April 24 run-off election.
Unlike the United States, where Republican and Democratic candidates spar at least twice, France's frontrunners get just one chance to take each down on live TV.
AFP takes a look at past clashes in what is now a French political tradition, many of which are etched into the memories of the French as turning points in political history.
- 1974: Hearts and minds -
Around 25 million people tuned in for France's the first ever US-inspired televised presidential debate, pitting Socialist candidate Francois Mitterrand against centrist finance minister Valery Giscard d'Estaing.
The two were neck-and-neck in the polls but the patrician Mitterrand's attempts to lecture his reform-minded opponent on wealth redistribution backfired.
"It's a matter of heart not just intelligence," Mitterrand argued, to which Giscard retorted: "You don't have a monopoly on the heart, Mr. Mitterrand."
Giscard won the election.
- 1981: 'Man of the past' -
Seven years later, the two met again, with Mitterrand itching to take revenge.
This time, the incumbent was the one talking down to his opponent, calling him a "man of the past" and asking him to prove his economic credentials by quoting the franc-deutschmark exchange rate.
"I'm not your student!" Mitterrand objected.
Giscard suffered the ignominy of being the first French president voted out after a single term.
- 1988: President vs premier -
1988 produced the strange spectacle of a president taking on his own prime minister. Mitterrand and centre-right candidate Jacques Chirac were uneasy bedfellows in what the French call a "cohabitation", where the president and government are from opposite sides of the left-right divide.
Sparks flew when Chirac insisted on calling the incumbent "Mister Mitterrand" instead of "Mister president."
"Tonight I'm not the prime minister and you're not the president of the republic...We're two equal candidates," Chirac said.
"You're quite right, mister prime minister," Mitterrand snapped back. Mitterrand got re-elected.
- 1995: Return of the right -
While the first three debates got voters' blood up, the excessively civil duel between Chirac and former Mitterrand minister Lionel Jospin in 1995 was met with howls of disappointment.
The only memorable line from their exchange was Jospin's claim that "it's better to have five years with Jospin (he backed the shift from a seven-year to a five-year presidential mandate) than seven years with Chirac."
Chirac triumphed nonetheless, winning back the presidency for the right.
- 2002: No debate with Le Pen -
In 2002, France was in shock after far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen overtook Jospin in the first round of the election to tee up a spot in the run-off against the incumbent Chirac.
Chirac refused to have a debate with Le Pen saying that "faced with intolerance and hatred, no debate is possible." Le Pen accused him of "copping out."
Backed by moderates from both the right and left Chirac trounced the former paratrooper.
- 2007: 'Calm down!' -
The first woman to make a presidential run-off, the Socialist Party's Segolene Royal, went on the attack in 2007 against then interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy over support for the disabled.
Sarkozy, who has a reputation for irascibility, refused to take the bait. "Calm down!" he tells her. "To be a president, you have to be calm." Royal refused to concede the point, insisting her anger is "very healthy". Sarkozy won.
- 2012: 'I, president' -
Five years later, the pugnacious Sarkozy badly needed to land a knockout blow on Royal's former partner Francois Hollande in order to hang onto the presidency. The taunts flew. Sarkozy called Hollande "a little slanderer" and accused him of lying.
But it is the Socialist Party leader, who had campaigned as a Mr Normal, who delivered the most memorable lines.
In a series of statements starting "I, as president of the republic" he set out plans to clean up the tainted political landscape bequeathed by his rival. Hollande won.
- 2017: Wipeout -
The 2017 debate, pitting nationalist Marine Le Pen -- daughter of Jean-Marie who made history when he got into the run-off round in 2002 -- against liberal centrist Macron is deemed the most brutal of all.
Le Pen was accused of drawing from Donald Trump's populist playbook by mocking Macron's relationship with his wife, Brigitte. Macron for his part accused her of "lies".
Le Pen got increasingly flummoxed and rummaged through her notes when Macron, a policy wonk, took her to task on her economic programme, including her plans to bring back the French franc.
Le Pen later admits that she "failed" the test. Macron won.
K.Thomson--BTB