French President Emmanual Macron is in a tight spot. He called a snap election earlier this month after suffering a bruising defeat in the EU elections.
The decision came after exit polls gave Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National more than double the vote share of the President's centrist alliance.
He is gambling on the idea that voters will demonstrate that Marine Le Pen's party is unable to win at a national level.
But it is increasingly looking like a bad call...
French President Emmanual Macron is in a tight spot. He called a snap election earlier this month after suffering a bruising defeat in the EU elections
PA
And Le Pen has pointed out a series of remarks that may well reflect a tetchy headspace going into the election.
On Monday, Macron suggested that the way the far-right and far-left blocs pit people against each other could lead to a "civil war".
He warned that National Rally’s plan to deal with crime and insecurity "refers to people of a religion or an origin", adding: "It divides, and it leads to civil war".
The far-left France Unbowed, which is part of a freshly coordination alliance, was also promoting sectarian politics that would provoke similar hostilities, he said.
Le Pen's response was brutal.
"He always campaigned saying 'it’s me or chaos',", she said. The National Rally leader added: "It’s a very weak argument that shows that he thinks he’s lost this election."
And one look at the polls suggests she may be right.
Opinion polls conducted in the wake of the election being called suggest Macron's centrist alliance could face an even greater rejection than Rishi Sunak is forecast to endure in next month's general election.
A poll published last week forecast Le Pen's party would lead in the first round with 33 per cent of the vote, ahead of the Popular Front, an alliance of left-wing parties, with 25 per cent.
Meanwhile, Macron's centrist group was on just 20 per cent backing.
Le Pen welcomed the French President's decision to call the election, warning that the results of the EU elections should send a message to Brussels and "put an end to this painful epoch of globalism".
If the hard-right leader wins the election, she has said she would not seek Macron's resignation. But she has got her eye on the 2027 Presidential election.
In just a few years, it could be curtains for Macron.
