French presidential foes take spin battle to tumble-drier factory
Marine Le Pen set a public relations trap for rival presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday when she showed up among striking French workers at a closing factory the day he was meeting their union representatives a few miles away.
The far-right Le Pen unexpectedly turned up at the tumble-drier Whirlpool plant in Amiens, in the northern rustbelt and whipped up passions among workers, accusing centrist frontrunner Macron of showing "contempt" by not paying them a visit. "Emmanuel Macron is with the oligarchs, with the Medef (employers' association)...I am with the French workers," she said.
The Macron, seeking to counter-attack, later turned up at the site in his hometown and was met with hecklers. A Reuters photographer there said some National Front activists were mingling in the crowd. Tyres were set ablaze in protest. But Macron stood his ground for more than an hour putting his case to the workers, and the atmosphere gradually calmed during an encounter that was broadcast live.
