Does Macron grasp what Corbyn would mean for France?

I had supper on Saturday with an old friend. She’s a committed French socialist, a schoolteacher in the Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, the most impoverished department in France. She’s relatively new to the profession, having decided in her late thirties that teaching was her calling. So she went back to university and upon qualifying she asked to be sent to the most challenging suburb in France.

Earlier this year I accepted her invitation to address her pupils on the subject of writing and journalism. It was a good day out. I went not knowing what to expect but left having met two classes of teenagers who were attentive and appreciative.

My friend has had some difficult moments in class, like every teacher, but in a school where the vast majority of pupils have roots outside France the cohesion is impressive. It’s not hard to understand why.

In France only one language is permitted in the classroom, in contrast to Britain where some schools boast