France
Macron vs Le Pen debate: le verdict
Who won Wednesday night’s debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen depends on who is doing the scoring. In…
Le Pen drives Paris mad. That’s why her voters love her
When asked to define Marine Le Pen in a single word, a majority of French people came up with ‘cats’…
How much did Emily Maitlis cost licence fee payers?
Off duty How many non-doms are there in the UK? – In the year ending 2020, 75,700 people filled in…
The French election should be a warning for Boris
In just over a week’s time, Emmanuel Macron will most likely win a second term. He has the opponent he…
The real danger Marine Le Pen poses to the EU
As the French Presidentielle hots up for the final vote on Sunday week, both Macron and Le Pen are fighting…
The French elite are playing into Le Pen’s hands
The cry of ‘aux barricades’ is reverberating around France as the country’s political elite rush to form a Republican Front.…
Even if he wins Macron could be facing disaster
Unaccustomed as political scientists are to florid language, they have nevertheless come up with the ‘theory of the dyke’, to…
French election: The country is divided
So it’s Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen once again, and for many millions of French that is a deeply…
Like him or loathe him, Macron is Europe's driving force
If you want to know why Marine Le Pen almost certainly won’t win the French presidency on 24 April, listen…
The mysteries and rituals of French democracy
Montpellier I have never voted in an election for president of France, not being French. But as a councillor in…
The strange revival of France’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Jean-Luc Mélenchon is on the march once more, rising up the polls and laying bare the ineptitude of the Socialist…
Progressives vs populists: Macron, Orban and Europe’s faultline
It’s the progressives vs the populists, Macron vs Orban
Macron has taken this election for granted
Things are going from bad to worse for Emmanuel Macron, and for the first time political commentators in France are…
Could Marine Le Pen actually win?
Emmanuel Macron is worried. This wasn’t how he had envisaged the election. A month ago the president of France held…
Was another tragic Jewish death covered up in France?
Not for the first time in France the death of a Jew is dominating the news, and not for the…
Could the Corsica revolts spread all over France?
The Colonnas in Corsica are a bit like the Smiths in Britain. We are numerous. But in smart Parisian circles,…
Will Macron surrender to the mob?
It has been a torrid few days in France. In the early hours of Saturday morning, a former Argentine rugby…
France is strong where Britain and America are weak
Emmanuel Macron unveiled his campaign manifesto in a carefully orchestrated press conference on Thursday and his pledges to cut taxes…
The shadowy charisma of the Mater Dei sisters
Catriona has a commission to paint the 17th-century façade of the chapel of St Joseph’s. She’d made a start when…
The Macron Paradox
With just 24 days to go before the first round of French presidential voting, the political landscape has become borderline surreal,…
Putin’s invasion has collapsed the French right
At the time it probably felt like a good idea for Marine Le Pen’s campaign team. A photo of her…
Macron appears unassailable
Emmanuel Macron, the President of France for whom few voters have expressed much affection, is suddenly the leader of a…
What's behind the wave of French police suicides?
Since Russia invaded Ukraine last week the western media has focused on little else. In Britain this concentration is understandable:…
The joy of French car boot sales
Every Saturday morning Michael rises at four and drives down to the Côte d’Azur to the Magic World car boot…
Why does Macron keep meddling in international crises?
Macron’s global posturing may prove to be his downfall
