France’s presidential race: a ‘rancid’, illiberal campaign

With the Left and Right both divided, Emmanuel Macron is in pole position to win again

French presidential election posters
(Image credit: Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s five years since the launch of the En Marche! party shook France’s political establishment and propelled Emmanuel Macron to the Élysée, said Françoise Fressoz in Le Monde (Paris). And with voting in our first presidential election since 2017 due to begin on 10 April, the incumbent is in pole position to win again – without even having declared his candidacy. Instead, he has focused his energies on “world affairs”, such as the Ukraine crisis, and seeking to boost France’s standing in Europe.

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