Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to talk about Islamic extremism could cost him dearly

Last night, an Islamic terrorist opened fire with an assault rifle on a police van on the Champs Élysées in Paris, killing one policeman and wounding two others before he was shot dead. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack and according to the French newspaper, Le Parisien, the gunman was a 39-year-old called Karim C, also known as Abu-Yusuf al-Baljiki, who in 2003 had been sentenced to twenty years in prison for the attempted murder of three men, two of whom were policemen.

At the same time as the police came under fire, Marine Le Pen was being interviewed on French television. Initially there were plans to hold another live debate featuring all eleven presidential candidates, but after complaints from some parties that it was too close to Sunday’s first round of voting, the format was changed to 15-minute one-to-one interviews with each candidate.

The change in format worked to Le Pen’s advantage.