It will be organized jointly by France 2 and TF1 and broadcast continuously on the news channels.
The debate between the two rounds between the two finalists in the presidential election will take place on April 20 at 9 p.m. on France 2 and TF1, the two channels told AFP on Wednesday. On the other hand, the name of the two presenters / presenters has not been stopped, specified the two chains.
The debate will be broadcast simultaneously by the four news channels continuously (BFM, CNews, LCI and franceinfo), but they will not participate in the evening, added France Télévisions.
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The televised debate between the two qualified candidates for the second round of the presidential election has been a tradition since 1974. It is always a highlight of the campaign, it has often proved crucial for the outcome of the election. For example, it gave rise to responses that have remained in French political memory. Among them, the “You don’t have the monopoly of the heart” from Valéry Giscard d’Estaing to François Mitterrand in 1974, the “You are the passive man” from the second to the first seven years later, or the repetition of the formula “Me, president…” by François Hollande against Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012.
Since 1974, the 2002 election is the only one to have taken place without a debate between the two rounds. Outgoing President Jacques Chirac had refused to debate with his far-right opponent, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was called a surprise.
In 2017, nearly 16.5 million viewers watched the debate between the two rounds between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen on all the channels that broadcast it, less than during the 2007 and 2012 editions.
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