Le Pen attacks Macron over climate scepticism claim
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen denied being a 'climate sceptic' on Sunday (April 17) in response to an attack by President Emmanuel Macron.
On Saturday Macron told supporters in Marseille he would focus his new presidency on making France free of fossil fuels and slammed Le Pen as a "climate sceptic".
Speaking on France 3 TV, a week ahead of the April 24 runoff, Le Pen said: "I don't know what he is basing that on, but I've never been climate sceptic and have a programme that takes into consideration the environment and ecology.
"I do not see how you can be a climate sceptic when you talk to wine growers... and when they tell you that they themselves see a change of the climate in the production, in their crops."
She said Macron was trying to exclude her from the environmental debate by portraying her as someone who didn't care for the ecology.
The presidential race is being fought on the left, with both contenders seeking to attract voters who chose left-wing firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, a strong proponent of renewables and protection of the environment, in the first round last Sunday. Melenchon was eliminated, leaving Macron and Le Pen to contest the presidency.
Both support increased investment in France's nuclear energy sector but Le Pen has called for a moratorium on wind and solar energy, and even for the 'progressive dismantling' of existing wind turbines.
Macron has pledged on the contrary to 'massively deploy' renewable energy production in France.