Relations between Paris and Warsaw curdled after Poland cancelled a helicopter deal with France last year, and worsened after France said Poland was at odds with the European Union’s democratic standards.
Mr Kaczynski, the leader of the hardline anti-EU Law and Justice (PiS) party that heads the government, told the conservative weekly Gazeta Polska: “Unfortunately, presidential elections nowadays have turned into a sort of plebiscite-cum-popularity contest, which is won not by the most responsible candidate, but by the celebrity candidate.
“(The French presidential election) is a striking example of how much harm can come of such a situation.”
Tensions between Paris and Warsaw have been simmering ever since Mr Kaczynski’s government scrapped a multi-million euro deal to buy 50 military helicopters from the French aeronautics behemoth Airbus in October 2016.
Franco-Polish relations soured further after Mr Macron said in August Poland had chosen to “go against European interests in many areas,” and was at odds with the bloc’s democratic values and economic reform plans.
The French head of state said: “Poland is not defining Europe’s future today and nor will it define the Europe of tomorrow.”
He added Poland’s refusal to overhaul the EU’s controversial directive on “posted” workers – cheap labour from eastern member states posted temporarily to more affluent western member states – was a “mistake”.
Poland’s prime minister Beata Szydlo was quick to fire back, saying the 39-year-old president – the youngest in modern French history – lacked political experience and was undermining the pillars of the EU.