Page 9 - aruba-today-20170505

A9
WORLD NEWS Friday 5 May 2017

Hacking arrest, fake news in tense French presidential race

SYLVIE CORBET because we don’t like Ar-
ELAINE GANLEY abs and are racist,” the
Associated Press 35-year-old Vincent said.
ALBI, France (AP) — Alle- “We’re not racist. We have
gations of fake news and to preserve our land and
hacking attempts dominat- our values.”
ed France’s tense presiden- Macron, meanwhile, was
tial campaign on Thursday, on France’s southern edge
with just two days left for in- in the Pyrenees town of Albi,
dependent Emmanuel Ma- visiting disgruntled workers
cron and his far-right rival at a glass factory before
Marine Le Pen to win over holding his last campaign
voters before this week- rally in which he called on
end’s high-stakes runoff. voters from the left and
Paris prosecutors launched right to choose his reform-
a preliminary investigation ist, pro-European platform.
into whether fake news is Macron arrived to booing
being used to influence and slogan-shouting from
Sunday’s vote, as front- dozens of protesting work-
runner Macron and popu- ers. But after 15 minutes
list Le Pen rallied thousands of talking, the 39-year-old
at their last big campaign front-runner managed to
events — in opposite parts French Gendarmes control protestors far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen as she faces calm some of their anger.
of the divided country. hostile reception from protesters in Dol-de-Bretagne, Brittany, Thursday May 4, 2017. Le Pen and Union leader Michel Par-
There has been intense centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron face on in Sunday’s runoff vote, with the latest polls sug- raud called Macron “very
anxiety in France over the gesting Macon is well ahead. kind and very polite,” al-
possibility that viral misin- (AP Photo) though he said he didn’t
formation or hackers could somehow involved with gave few details about the “We love you Marine!” and think the pro-business cen-
influence the presidential a Caribbean bank and a seriousness of the interfer- “Marine President!” trist would do much for fac-
vote, as in the U.S. election firm based on the island of ence, which could range Le Pen said she represents tory workers.
last year. Those fears have Nevis. from attempts at defacing “the widow of the farmer Macron pledged to “give
largely failed to materialize. Macron’s camp said the the website to flooding it who killed himself because strength back to the coun-
Then on Thursday, Ma- former investment banker with bogus traffic. he couldn’t stand it any- try” and “build a more ef-
cron’s campaign filed suit was the victim of a “cyber- Police referred questions to more” as well as the com- ficient and fair society,”
against an unknown source misinformation campaign.” prosecutors, who wouldn’t pany chief who sees a pub- speaking from an open-
“X’’ after Le Pen suggested Speaking on France Inter comment. In a fiery speech lic bid go to a foreign com- air stage in Albi’s central
during their only one-on- radio, Macron blamed Le delivered late Thursday in petitor, and the taxi driver square.
one debate that the for- Pen for spreading “fake a field in northern France, who lost his job to “Uberiza- Le Pen’s suggestion that
mer banker could have an news” and said he never Le Pen made an emotional tion.” Macron might have an off-
offshore account. held a bank account “in appeal to desperate farm- “Don’t let them steal the shore account cuts to the
“I hope we won’t find out any tax haven whatsoev- ers, the jobless and the disil- election,” she warned, heart of her portrayal of him
you have an offshore ac- er.” lusioned. summoning voters to join as an elitist former bank-
count in the Bahamas,” Le “All this is factually inaccu- Painting herself as the Sunday’s “rendezvous with er far removed from the
Pen said during the tense rate,” Macron said. “voice of the people,” she history.” people’s worries. She later
prime-time showdown In a subsequent twist, Le said her rival would con- Among those in the wild- backed away from the
Wednesday night. Pen’s campaign said a far- tinue the painful status quo. ly cheering crowd was suggestion of an offshore
She appeared to be refer- left hacker was arrested Thousands of support- Gaelle Vincent, who wore account, but prosecutors
ring to two sets of appar- this week and confessed ers climbed on hay bales a French flag in her hair to launched a probe into sus-
ent forgeries, published just to repeatedly targeting or clustered in the field in hear Le Pen speak. picions of forgery and the
hours earlier, that purport- its website. In a statement the village of Ennemain to “People think little villages spreading of false news in
ed to show Macron was Thursday, the campaign hear her speak, chanting like us vote National Front order to divert votes.q