(International Agencies) - Hours after the marathon face-off between France’s two presidential contenders on Wednesday evening, the verdict was that Macron had emerged as the winner on the substance and Le Pen held it together on style.

‘The interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said it was overall a satisfactory debate: “If the presidential campaign itself has been disappointing, here we saw the choice between two kinds of France, two different visions,” he told Europe 1.

Jordan Bardella, head of Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party, accused Macron of being the “number one public insult thrower” adding: “When he insults Marine Le Pen as do his supporters, he is really insulting the French.”

Clément Beaune, the Europe minister, accused Le Pen of seeking to organise a Frexit by stealth. “On this subject, it was clear that Marine Le Pen did not have a project and that she had just cut her Frexit into smaller pieces,” he said.

Pollsters Elabe questioned viewers after the debate and declared that 59% found Macron more convincing compared with 39% for Le Pen. Among supporters of the radical left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, whose 7.7 million voters both presidential candidates are chasing, the poll found 61% judged Macron convincing against 36% for Le Pen. Only 29% of those asked found the far-right leader displayed “the most qualities necessary to be president”.

Macron was deemed to be more dynamic, slightly more sincere and with the better programme than Le Pen. Half judged Macron to be “more arrogant” than his rival, while Le Pen was considered “worrying” by about half.