Le Pen Could Take Power in France: Macron

French centrists will likely lose to right-wing politicians, namely Marine Le Pen, in the 2027 presidential election if current "challenges" are left unaddressed, President Emmanuel Macron has warned.

Speaking to Le Parisien newspaper in an interview published at the weekend, Macron said Le Pen is set to become the biggest political winner of the ongoing turmoil in the country.

“Marine Le Pen will arrive [in power] if we are unable to respond to the challenges of the country and if we introduce a habit of lying or denying reality,” the president warned, RT reported.

Given that the main tool of Le Pen and her like is “populism,” he continued, it is impossible for centrists to compete with right-wingers in the field of making promises. Instead, they should win back the voters through real action, tackling the challenges of “reindustrialization,” “ecology” and the “fight for our public services,” Macron said.

Macron also stood by his highly divisive pension reform, reiterating his stance that the only real mistake about it was not advertising the unpopular move to the public enough.

“Perhaps the mistake was not being sufficiently present to give substance to the reform and carry it myself,” Macron said.

The pension reform, which included raising France’s retirement age to 64 from 62, sparked mass protests and civil unrest, which continue across the country.

Le Pen, who has unsuccessfully run for president three times, losing her two latest bids to Macron, has accused the president of creating a “total rupture” between the French public and the presidency. Speaking to BFM TV on Saturday, she said Macron has ended up “completely bunkered” with his reform.