(Writes through)
By Dominique Vidalon and Ingrid Melander
PARIS, April 8 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday accused his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen of lying to voters about her "racist" platform as he sought to rally support two days before the presidential election's first round.
The race appears to be narrowing down to the two finalists of the 2017 election and while Macron so far has kept clear of any direct debate, the two have increasingly taken aim at each other from afar - and on Friday without mincing their words.
"There was a clear strategy (from Le Pen's camp) to hide what is brutal in her programme," Macron told Le Parisien in an interview published on Friday.
"Her fundamentals have not changed: it's a racist programme that aims to divide society and is very brutal."
Le Pen told broadcaster Franceinfo that she was "shocked" at the accusation, which she rejected, branding the president "febrile" and "aggressive".
She said her programme, which includes adding a "national priority" principle to the French constitution, would not discriminate against people on grounds of their origin - as long as they held a French passport.
MOMENTUM
Macron is ahead in opinion polls, which still see him as the most likely winner, but his re-election is no longer a foregone conclusion. Le Pen's solid comeback in opinion polls has put her victory within the margin of error in some surveys.
Le Pen has centred her bid on purchasing power, softening her image and tapping into the voters' main concern by promising to cut taxes and hike some social benefits, worrying financial markets as she gains momentum in the polls.
Rival far-right candidate Eric Zemmour's radical, outspoken views have helped her look more mainstream and many left-leaning voters have told pollsters that, unlike in 2017, they would not vote in the second round to keep Le Pen out of power.
"They won't necessarily vote for Marine Le Pen, but they don't want to vote for Emmanuel Macron," said Jean-David Levy, the deputy director of polling institute Harris Interactive.
"Marine Le Pen has never been so capable of winning a presidential election"
According to opinion polls, around a third of voters still haven't made up their minds, which analysts say often favours candidates with realistic chances to enter the second round as undecided voters tend to go for what French call a "useful vote", meaning voting strategically.