Macron, Le Pen battle out on cost of living in heated runoff campaign

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen traded blows at a distance on Monday over who would best protect French voters' purchasing power, kicking off a tense fight to win the presidential election runoff on April 24.
 

Macron, a pro-European centrist who became president in 2017 after easily beating Le Pen when voters rallied behind him to keep the far-right out of power, is facing a much tougher challenge this time.
 

He is slightly ahead in polls, but Le Pen, who ahead of Sunday's first round successfully tapped into anger over the cost of living and a perception that Macron is