The two presidential candidates for France squared off in their only broadcast discussion ahead of Sunday's second-round run-off voting.
In opinion polls, far-right leader Marine Le Pen has slipped behind centrist Emmanuel Macron, yet millions of voters remain unsure.
It didn't take long for the two-hour-and-45-minute brawl to get started.
On the expense of living, Russia, climate change, and immigration, the contenders sparred.
The debate drew 15.6 million viewers, with Mr Macron accusing his opponent of being reliant on Russian might and Marine Le Pen calling him a climate change hypocrite.
The campaign has been dominated by spiraling prices, which have taken center stage in the debate.
When the two met in 2017, Emmanuel Macron was widely regarded as the victor, as his opponent appeared frazzled and unprepared.
Marine Le Pen, on the other hand, was prepared and composed from the start.
Mr Macron was the one who went on the attack throughout the debate, acting more like a challenger than an incumbent and often interrupting his opponent.
Ms Le Pen said 70% of the French people believed their standard of living had fallen over the past five years and she would be the president of civil peace and national brotherhood. “We need to give priority to the French in their own country,” she said.
Mr Macron said France had known unprecedented crisis, with Covid followed by war in Europe. He had steered France through those challenges and aimed to make France a stronger country: the vote was a “referendum on Europe, on secularism, and a moment of clear choice”, he said.
Despite a strong performance from Ms Le Pen, a snap Elabe poll of voters suggested 59% of viewers thought Mr Macron had come out the winner.
The sitting president was seen as most presidential, by 53% to 29%, although half of viewers also said he had come across as arrogant. Ms Le Pen was narrowly deemed to be more in tune with normal people, although 50% found her “worrying”.
BBC
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