Europe | France’s parliamentary election

Emmanuel Macron faces heavy losses after a short campaign

The next French government may be led by the hard right or hard left

Jordan Bardella, President of the French far-right National Rally.
Photograph: Reuters
|PARIS

As France’s flash parliamentary-election campaign officially got under way this week, Emmanuel Macron’s centrist candidates were pounding the streets, trying to put on a brave face. After days handing out flyers, one deputy standing for re-election concedes that campaigning is “extremely tough”. Another describes the president’s decision to call a snap legislative election as “idiotic”. Many are preparing to pack their bags. “He has thrown us under a bus,” says a minister.

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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Out ahead”

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