The French presidential election in April will almost certainly be decided in a second-round contest between the incumbent, Emmanuel Macron, and one of the right-wing candidates. Much therefore will depend on the performance of potential spoilers like Éric Zemmour, the French version of Donald Trump.
PARIS – Just a few weeks ago, the 2022 French presidential election seemed liked it was already a done deal: President Emmanuel Macron would again defeat Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally party. Although Le Pen received one-third of the vote in 2017 – an achievement that would have been unthinkable ten years earlier – no reasonable person would bet on her prevailing over Macron in 2022.
PARIS – Just a few weeks ago, the 2022 French presidential election seemed liked it was already a done deal: President Emmanuel Macron would again defeat Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally party. Although Le Pen received one-third of the vote in 2017 – an achievement that would have been unthinkable ten years earlier – no reasonable person would bet on her prevailing over Macron in 2022.