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

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron, candidate for his re-election, reacts on stage after partial results in the first round of the 2022 French presidential election, in Paris, France, April 10, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

DENAIN, France (Reuters) -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.