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Labeled an "elitist" by his rival Marine Le Pen, criticized for his first round victory celebrations, and then overshadowed in his home town by the far-right candidate, Macron has spent much of the past week on the back foot.

It's why he's not moving his furniture into the lyse Palace just yet -- instead taking a lesson from the 2016 US election, in which Hillary Clinton suffered a surprise defeat.

"That was almost certainly the mistake Hillary Clinton made," Emmanuel Macron told CNN's Melissa Bell on Thursday.

"I'm absolutely not playing that game. Right from the first day, that hasn't been the way I defended myself or how I fought."

Macron may have won the first round vote and have been endorsed by several of his rivals but the past week has brought new problems for the 39-year-old, who is seeking to become the nation's youngest leader since Napoleon.

First, it was his celebrations after winning the first round -- at an upmarket brasserie in Paris -- which caused consternation. The celebration led many to believe he had already declared himself President. He was accused of being out of touch with the public, playing perfectly into Le Pen's accusation that he remains part of the "elite."

"I am in the middle of employees who resist to wild globalization. I am not with the managers who eat petit fours," Le Pen said, according to BFMTV.

While she received cheers and posed for selfies, Macron faced a far more hostile reception when he entered the factory.

Macron stopped to talk to workers and answer questions while describing Le Pen's visit as a stunt.

And on Thursday, in an interview that aired on French national channel TF1, Macron -- a millionaire investment banker and former government minister -- bristled at the notion he's a candidate for France's elite.

"I am not the candidate for a little group or a kind of nomenclature," he said. " I am going to protect the middle classes and the most vulnerable in France.

"I have a policy for education, for labor. That is what is specific about my project. [It] speaks to the whole of France, the entirety of the country, the towns and the countryside, the farmers and the industrialists, the workers and the entrepreneurs."

He also made a point of differentiating himself from Le Pen, who has rallied supporters with an anti-European Union message.

While Le Pen has advocated taking France out of the EU and closing the country's borders, Macron has called for closer integration.

"I will not be against Berlin. I am with Berlin," he said. "We have differences. We have disagreements, but I will not tell the French today that I am going to defend their interests against Berlin."

"Europe is a construction: Ours. We decided to create Europe. We did it for our peace, for our prosperity, for our liberty."

While most polls have Macron well ahead going into the May 7 runoff he remains cautious.

He rejected accusations that he lacks the experience required for the job and says "there is no ideal age to become President of the Republic."

"Every day since the beginning of the campaign, I have never considered myself as the favorite," he said.

"The lack of experience is due to my age. I do not have the experience of politics but of the government, the private sector and the public service. I think it is important, Ms. Le Pen does not have that experience."

CNN's Vasco Cotovio, Melissa Bell, Judith Vonberg, Bryony Jones and Hilary Clarke contributed to this report.

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Emmanuel Macron vows to avoid 'the mistake Hillary Clinton made' - CNN