Macron and Le Pen battle over pensions as French election race tightens

With France's presidentialracetightening ahead of Sunday's first round vote, favourites President EmmanuelMacronandfar-right challenger MarineLePenbattledoverpension reform on Monday.

Opinion polls have long predictedMacronwill win a second term butLePenhas tightened the gap, with polls showing the 44-year old president with only a six-point advantage in a likely run-off on April 24.

LePenhas benefited from a campaign focused on purchasing power on which she doubled down on Monday.

"Do you realise what retirement at 65 is? It's simply completely unfair," she told BFM TV, lambastingMacron's plan to increase thelegal age at which one gets a fullpension from 62 to 65.

LePenwants to keep the 62-year-old threshold andbring it down to 60 for those who started working before age 20. Pushing back the retirement age would hurt workers, she said, arguing that many would not manage to find a job at that ageandwould see theirpension hit as a consequence

Macron, asked about criticism of hispension reform plans, told France Inter radio: "Those who tell you we can keep (thepension system) as it is now are lying to you."

Watch |France presidential elections: Will Macron win re-election bid?

Raising the retirement age - with exceptions for those who have tough jobs or worked longer than others - was needed to make the system viableandincrease lowpensions, he said.

Macron, when he belatedly entered the election campaign last month, said he would increase the retirement age, cut taxes and further loosen labour market rules, seeking a mandate to press on with pro-business reforms.

Stressing his pro-business credentials was not without risk as households feel the squeeze from rising pricesandcould put off a number ofleftwing voters from backing him againstLePenin a likely run-off on April 24.

On Saturday, in his only campaign rally before the first round,Macrontried to convince voters of the risk of a Brexit-styleelection upset that could seeLePentake the far-right to power in France.

"Look at what happened with Brexit,andso many other elections: what looked improbableactually happened," he said. "Nothing is impossible."

Even ifMacrondoes win a second mandate, as polls still expect, the issue ofpension reform, which dogged his first term, could be a problem, considering how widespread the opposition is.

One first, major challenge would be for his centre-right La Republique en Marche (LaRem) party, which has failed in all recent local elections, to win a parliamentary election in June.