The French election is due to take place in April 2022, but the front runners are becoming clearer, reports Politics.co.uk.
Incumbent president Emmanuel Macron is the favourite, but there is a group of colourful characters chasing him including Michel Barnier, Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour.
The most notable of these is Zemmour, a far right journalist and self declared populist, with similarities to Donald Trump. While he’s not yet announced that he will stand, it seems likely he’ll challenge when the time comes.
Dr David Lees, an associate professor of French Studies at the University of Warwick, believes that Zemmour’s rhetoric is making an impact.
“He’s shaping the narrative really around the election and particularly around the far right and the role of the far right in the election without really having done anything concrete.” Lees said.
Meanwhile, in a parallel to British politics, the left is in disarray, split and torn apart by infighting.