  2022 French presidential election

The far left La France Insoumise (LFI) has agreed to form an alliance with the Socialists (PS), the Communist Party (PCF) and the Greens (EELV) ahead of the French parliamentary elections in June. To prevent President Macron's newly renamed Renaissance party from winning a majority, the parties have divided the constituencies among themselves. Could this strategy work for the left?

Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected as French president. With 58.55 percent in the runoff vote he had a clear lead over his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen (41.45 percent), but the gap narrowed compared to five years ago. Europe's press comments on the results, also with a view to the upcoming French parliamentary elections in June.

With the run-off vote for the French presidency taking place on Sunday, Europe is watching France with bated breath: the latest polls put the liberal incumbent Macron ahead of his far-right rival Le Pen, but his victory is by no means certain. Undecided and left-leaning voters will be crucial for the outcome. Commentators see the vote as decisive for the EU's future.

In the first round of the French presidential election, polls suggest that incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and the far-right leader Marine Le Pen have the best chances of making it into a run-off. Europe's press criticises the campaign and speculates anxiously about the results.

It could be a close race: Emmanuel Macron's lead against Marine Le Pen is narrowing. According to a poll from Sunday (Ifop), the incumbent president is at 27 percent while the Rassemblement National candidate is at 22 percent, leading to speculation in the European press about a potential victory for Le Pen in the second round of voting.

The first round of the French presidential elections will take place in less than two weeks. Polls show the incumbent liberal president Emmanuel Macron in the lead with 28 percentage points, ahead of far-right politician Marine Le Pen (21 percent) and leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon (14 percent). Commentators evaluate possible outcomes against the backdrop of current events.

The presidential election is due to begin in four weeks in France. President Macron delayed announcing his candidacy until the last minute but the incumbent president is nonetheless ahead in the polls. This is likely one reason why he doesn't want to engage in a public debate with his eleven rivals.

French President Macron's active role as a mediator in the war in Ukraine could potentially bring him advantages but also entails risks in the presidential election campaign, commentators observe.

At her first major campaign event in Paris on Sunday, the presidential candidate of Les Républicains, Valérie Pécresse, adopted classic far-right themes, warning of infiltration by Islamists, security problems and a betrayal of French culture. This draws criticism from the national press.

France will elect a new president in (presumably) two rounds of voting on the 10th and 24th of April, respectively. Commentators discuss the fact that the incumbent president Emmanuel Macron appears to be already preparing for the second round and speculate on who will be pitted against whom in the run-off.

Former Justice Minister Christiane Taubira has won the unofficial online primaries to choose a left-wing candidate for the French presidential elections. But the candidates already nominated by the left parties are refusing to recognise the result of the "Popular Primary" organised by a citizens' initiative, and say they will continue their candidacy. The national press takes different views of popular online vote.

In France, the president is not obliged to justify his actions before the National Assembly. So for Emmanuel Macron, his speech to the EU Parliament on Wednesday outlining the goals of his country's EU Council presidency was also a welcome occasion to open the French presidential campaign on European terrain. Not all commentators are happy about this conflation.

All of the five leftist candidates in the French presidential election are polling at below ten percent. After the proposal of Socialist Anne Hidalgo to elect a joint candidate was clearly rejected, former justice minister Christiane Taubira is pushing for 'popular primaries' to elect a joint candidate and has put herself forward for election. The national press is sceptical.

At the start of the new year, French President Emmanuel Macron had an EU flag hoisted at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to mark the beginning of France's EU presidency. But because the French tricolour was not hoisted alongside the EU flag, the conservative and right-wing opposition condemned the gesture as an attack on France's national identity. Europe's press discusses the affair, also in view of the French presidential election to be held in April.

France's conservative party Les Republicains will send Valérie Pécresse into the 2022 presidential race. The head of the Île-de-France region prevailed in a run-off against staunchly right-wing Eric Ciotti. Former favourites such as Brexit chief negotiator Michel Barnier were eliminated in the first round. Commentators discuss whether Pécresse can hold her own against Macron and the far-right candidates Zemmour and Le Pen.

After considerable speculation, the far-right journalist Eric Zemmour has declared his candidacy for the 2022 French presidential elections on YouTube. His video harks back to General de Gaulle's 1940 call to resistance and warns that French culture is disappearing as a result of immigration. Europe's press voices concern.

The French newspaper Ouest-France has announced that it will not conduct any polls for the 2022 presidential election on the grounds that they distract from the essential issues. With the exception of the free papers, Ouest-France is the French daily with the highest circulation. Can this move strengthen democracy and the culture of debate?

Hardly a day goes by without a controversial debate about Eric Zemmour in the French media. The journalist, who has been convicted several times for spreading racial hatred, is making a name for himself with his far-right views and flirting with the idea of running for president in the 2022 elections. In some polls he has already overtaken Marine Le Pen. France's press takes stock.

The French elections in April 2022 are drawing closer. On Monday the first TV debate among the conservative primary candidates took place, Macron's televised address on Tuesday already was already focused on his election platform, and on the extreme right Eric Zemmour - not yet an official candidate - is slowly outpacing Marine Le Pen. Europe's press discusses the extent to which they are all fighting for the same votes.