Could France’s ‘forgotten’ voters hand Le Pen victory?

A short war in Ukraine would not suit Emmanuel Macron. The longer it lasts the longer the president of France can project to his people the image of the implacable wartime leader. So far so good. If the polls are to be believed, next month’s presidential election is a foregone conclusion; the latest poll has Macron on 31 per cent, way in front of his closest rival, Marine Le Pen, on 18 per cent.

Despite such a dominant lead over the rest of the field, Macron’s campaign team insist that they are on their guard against complacency. The president will unveil his programme in its entirety on Thursday, just over three weeks before voters go to the polls in the first round of voting, and in the meantime his minions are out in the field distributing pamphlets on his behalf.

Three of them accosted me at the market on Sunday. They were nice enough people.