Macron, Le Pen Battle Out on Cost of Living in Heated Runoff Campaign

French President Emmanuel Macron, candidate for his reelection, meets with supporters during his first campaign day trip after coming first in the first round of the 2022 French presidential election, in Carvin, France, on April 11, 2022. Benoit Tessier/Pool via Reuters

DENAIN, France—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 economic liberal who became president in 2017 after easily beating Le Pen, is facing a much tougher challenge this time.