PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the upcoming French presidential election (all times local):
3:10 p.m.
Top presidential contenders Emmanuel Macron and Francois Fillon have offered congratulations to French police after the arrest of two suspected radicals who were allegedly preparing a terror attack in France.
Macron, an independent centrist considered one of the front-runners of the vote, said in a written statement: “This event serves as reminders that the terrorist threat is still very high on our territory.”
Macron recalled he has pledged to pursue military intervention in Iraq and Syria, boost intelligence services and fight against terrorism on the internet.
Conservative candidate Fillon said “democracy must not get on its knees in front of the threats and intimidations from terrorists. The campaign must continue until the end.”
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12:55 p.m.
The French interior minister says police have arrested two suspected radicals who were allegedly preparing an “imminent” terror attack in France as it prepares to vote Sunday in the first round of its presidential election.
The minister, Matthias Fekl, said at a brief news conference that the arrests took place in the southern city of Marseille.
He said those arrested were suspected of preparing an attack in the coming days.
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11:30 a.m.
French centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron says he will simplify the country’s famously complex labor laws within weeks of taking office.
In comments at the Rungis wholesale market outside Paris, Macron says that it’s not a question of taking rights away from workers, but of lowering the 10-percent unemployment rate that has plagued France for years.
Macron, who has never held elected office, is running without the backing of an established party and claims to be neither of the right nor the left.
The pre-dawn market is a regular campaign stop for French politicians looking to show solidarity with workers, who rise before the sun to feed the Paris region.
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10:55 a.m.
French far right candidate Marine Le Pen is promising a freeze on long-term visas as soon as she takes office, followed by a tax on any company that hires foreign workers.
Ahead of Sunday’s first-round election, Le Pen told RTL radio on Tuesday she would issue an order to immediately stop issuing long-term visas for two weeks so the government can verify that they are not taking jobs away from French citizens.
Le Pen, who has campaigned against immigration and Europe’s open borders, also wants to impose a 10 percent tax on labor contracts that go to foreigners and seize back control of French borders.
Polls show Le Pen is among four leading French candidates, with no clear front-runner. The top two candidates advance to a May 7 runoff.
