Macron, the 39-year-old former economy minister, appeared along with the National Front leader and three other candidates vying to replace Socialist Francois Hollande in the two-round presidential election in April and May.

The live-televised debate quickly turned to immigration, security and Islam in the wake of several terror attacks across France, and Macron was accused by Le Pen of being in favor of the burkini, the full-body swimsuit worn by Muslim women, and banned last summer by several coastal towns.

French election: The major players Emmanuel Macron Macron quit as economy minister in August and launched his independent presidential bid in November. The 39-year-old centrist formed his own political movement, En Marche (Forward), and is seen as a reformer. Despite having never held elected office, polls have predicted his win in the final round of voting in May. He's voiced admiration for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policy.

French election: The major players Marine Le Pen The National Front leader has adopted a more moderate tone than her anti-Semitic father, party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen. But she still takes a hard line on immigration, saying children of irregular migrants should not have access to public education. She also wants France to withdraw from the eurozone and have a referendum on EU membership. It's predicted she'll advance to the second round.

French election: The major players Francois Fillon A surprise winner of the right-wing Republicans primaries, the socially conservative Fillon is seen to represent the interests of France's Catholic middle class. An admirer of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, he supports a liberal economic policy. Though Penelopegate and other scandals have marred Fillon's campaign, he has professed no wrongdoing and vowed to fight on.

French election: The major players Benoit Hamon In a runoff against former French PM Manuel Valls in the Socialist primary, Hamon was the more left-wing choice of the two politicians. The 49-year-old supports a universal basic income and wants to shorten the traditional work week. He has also spoken in support of increased investment in renewable energy. He faces an uphill battle as many socialist politicians have voiced support for Macron.

French election: The major players Jean-Luc Melenchon The Left Party's candidate landed fourth in the 2012 presidential elections. Melenchon, a current European Parliament member, believes the bloc's economic liberalism has stifled France. He hopes to profit from the center-left's disarray, but may split votes with socialist Hamon. Supported by the French Communist party, Melenchon advocates a shorter work week and climate protection. Author: Samantha Early



"You are lying (to voters) by twisting the truth," retorted Macron, who is running as an independent.

He then accused the anti-immigration Le Pen of trying to divide the French over the garment, which the National Front leader wants to ban completely.

But Le Pen insisted the burkini was an example of the "rise of radical Islam in our country."

Opinion polls

In two early opinion polls on Tuesday, Macron was judged the most convincing candidate. In an Elabe poll of 1,157 people, 29 percent of viewers gave their approval to Macron. Leftist Jean-Luc Melechon who held his first rally in Paris at the weekend, placed second with a score of 20 percent while Francois Fillon and Marine Le Pen came in one point behind at 19 percent. Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon trailed with 11 percent.

For a OpinionWay poll of of 1,037 viewers, Macron led with 24 percent followed by Fillon and Le Pen at 19 percent and Melenchon at 15 percent. Hamon was last on 10 percent.

Macron's campaign has also been boosted by backing from members of President Francois Hollande's government. Ecology party lawmaker and biodiversity minister Barbara Pompili announced she was giving her support to Macron after the debates. She was the first government minister to do so. "I've decided after weighing it up seriously to back the endeavour, the programme and the candidacy of Emmanuel Macron," Pompili told France Info radio.

Shortly afterwards, Bernard Poignant, a close adviser to Hollande, said he was also backing Macron.

A later Opinionway survey confirmed previous polls with Le Pen tipped to win 27 percent of the vote in the April 23 first round, three points ahead of Macron. But Macron would easily beat Le Pen in the May 7 runoff.



From the left, Francois Fillon, Emmanuel Macron, Jean-Luc Melenchon, Marine Le Pen and Benoit Hamon

Le Pen: I won't be Merkel's vice chancellor

The far-right leader, who has vowed to take France out of the euro and hold a referendum on EU membership in the wake of the Brexit vote, said she didn't want to be "vice chancellor to Ms. Merkel," in a dig at the German leader, who she has accused to dictating policy to the rest of Europe.

But Le Pen was repeatedly forced into defensive mode over her program, which her rivals said would cause "economic and social chaos," and later grew defiant when asked about migration.

"I want to put an end to immigration, that's clear," she declared, complaining that the security situation in France was "explosive."

Monday's debate was the first time Le Pen and Macron have confronted each other in a public forum.

Buoyed by Trump

The two candidates have been polling neck-and-neck for weeks to win the first round of voting on April 23, although analysts say Le Pen has little chance of winning the run-off of the top two candidates in May. Still, after Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump, few pundits are willing to rule out a win for her.

Alongside the two frontrunners were Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon, euroskeptic leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon, and scandal-plagued conservative Francois Fillon.

Just a few months ago, third-placed Fillon was considered a clear favorite after defeating former President Nicolas Sarkozy in the Republican party primary.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" Frontrunner no more Many expected Francois Fillon to be a shoo-in for the presidency. The former French prime minister easily won the conservative primary with 67 percent of the vote. But then Penelopegate hit. Weekly newspaper Canard Enchaine reported that Fillon's wife Penelope and two of his children had received close to one million euros in salaries from Fillon, paid by the state. Fillon's popularity tumbled.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" Working for her husband? It is not illegal in France to hire family members as parliamentary assistants - provided they have real jobs. Fillon's wife was paid 830,000 euros ($900,000) as a parliamentary assistant for 15 years, working (or - as some have suggested - "working") for Fillon and his replacement in parliament. Police are currently investigating whether Penelope provided services for the salary she received.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" Keeping it in the family Reporters also revealed that Fillon paid his two oldest children 84,000 euros for working as assistants between 2005 and 2007. Fillon argued that he had hired Marie and Charles Fillon for their legal expertise - though the two were still in law school when they had jobs with their father.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" More accusations Penelope was also employed at an art magazine from May 2012 to December 2013, where she was paid roughly 5,000 euros a month. The owner of the magazine had previously been recommended for France's highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, by then-prime minister Francois Fillon. Fillon has said that these two facts were unrelated.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" A smear campaign? Fillon has repeatedly denied charges that he used "fake jobs" to enrich his family. He has said that he employed his wife and children because he trusted them and accused the media of running a smear campaign against him. Nevertheless, Penelopegate has severely damaged the campaign of the 63-year old, who has sold himself to French voters as an honest family man keen on cutting public spending.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" Certainly not a first The accusations against Fillon are hardly the first of their kind in France. Ex-President Jacques Chirac was found guilty in 2011 of employing party members in "fake jobs" as mayor of Paris. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy is being investigated for illegal campaign financing, and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is suspected of paying officials in her far-right party with EU funds. Author: Mara Bierbach



However, a 'fake job' investigation uncovered evidence that he paid his wife a large salary as a parliamentary aide although she allegedly carried out little work. Since then, he has struggled to forge a connection with voters.

Fillon, who is a former prime minister, also criticized Merkel, making reference to her "(refugee) policies that turned out to be bad policies, and are now criticized even by her own allies in Germany."

Fillon sought to claw back votes by emphasizing his political experience, hitting out at Le Pen's plans to ditch the single currency.

"You don't leave the euro and the protection afforded by the European Central Bank ... for an adventure ... that would ruin borrowers and savers alike," he scolded.

'Traditional parties have failed'

Macron, who is running as an independent, insisted that he was "not part of the establishment," although he's the most europhile of all the candidates.

"The traditional parties, those who have for decades failed to solve yesterday's problems, won't be able to do it tomorrow either," he added.

Another TV debate has been scheduled for April 4.

mm,es/jm (AFP, Reuters)