Voters are heading to the polls across France to vote in the second round of a snap election called by President Emmanuel Macron, who risks losing swaths of his centrist allies in parliament and being forced to see out the remaining three years of his presidential term in an awkward partnership with the far right. After taking the lead in the first round of voting last Sunday, the far-right National Rally (RN) – led by the 28-year-old Jordan Bardella under the watchful eye of party doyenne Marine Le Pen – is closer to power than ever before. The RN, whose once-taboo brand of anti-immigrant politics has been given a fresh and more acceptable face by Bardella, won 33% of the popular vote in the first round. The newly-formed left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front (NFP), came second with 28%, while Macron’s Ensemble alliance trailed in a distant third with 21%.…
