What if Marine Le Pen becomes President?

• The right-wing nationalist camp in France has never been closer to power than it is now. Even if Macron succeeds in being re-elected on Sunday, his room for maneuver will be significantly restricted.
• Not only France would change drastically under President Le Pen. The consequences would also be devastating for Germany and the rest of the EU – not least in the Ukraine conflict.
• Macron has put his country on a growth course. But this election campaign is less about economic data and more about emotions.

Ludovic Pajot hurries through the town hall of Bruay-la-Buissière. The election campaign is on, there are many appointments, he says. In addition, there would be his duties as “Monsieur le Maire”, i.e. as mayor of the small town in northern France, who is worse off than many municipalities in the country. Almost a third of Bruay-la-Buissière’s residents are poor, according to Insee, the national statistics agency.