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‘Something is different this time. The consensus across the political spectrum that stood firmly in favour of excluding the far right from power for so long has been blown away.’
A recent poll in France forecast that Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old leader of France’s far right Rassemblement National (RN), would win a second-round vote in the next presidential election in France, due in the spring of 2027 – less than 18 months away. It does not matter his opponent: whether it is far-left firebrand Mélenchon, whom he would beat comfortably, or former Macron’s PMs Gabriel Attal and Edouard Philippe, Bardella would win (53% against the latter). Whilst another poll had Philippe winning against Bardella, it is undeniable that the prospect of a far right administration in France is no longer to be filed in the “oh come off it!” column. The news should not come as a surprise either, such has been the seemingly unrelenting march of populism in France and elsewhere. Yet for the RN to appear at the top of expectations for the first time ever still acted as an electroshock.

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