Paris

Incumbent French President Emmanuel Macron has accused his opponent in the presidential election Marine Le Pen of being dependent on the Russian authorities on Thursday.

During the debates with his opponent, Macron said: "You were the first European politician, who recognized the annexation of Crimea in 2014 ... That is bad news for our country. You depend on the Russian authorities, you depend on Mr Putin," he said, according to Sputnik News Agency.

As per the president, Europe and France should become a balancing force. Macron also accused Le Pen of taking a loan from a Russian bank in 2017. "I did that because no French bank wanted to give me a loan," Le Pen responded, as per Sputnik. According to Macron, the French role in the Ukrainian crisis is to prevent further escalation.

"We should stick to our policy that envisages the prevention of this war's spread. The French role is also to provide support for Ukraine," Macron further said. On April 10, France held the first round of the presidential election.

Macron gained 27.84 per cent of votes, Le Pen 23.15 per cent. The two politicians will face each other on April 24. Earlier, there were reports that Macron could win the second round of the presidential election with 53.5 per cent of the vote, according to an Elabe poll for French media, released on Thursday, as per Sputnik.

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Macron's rival, the leader of the right-wing National Rally party, Marine Le Pen is expected to receive 46.5 per cent.