target the challenge from rival stables and offset the odds of victory.

   The French presidential election is still far off in mid-2022, but a
   stalking-horse challenge is already setting up a shake-out for the
   frontrunners. Eric Zemmour, a polemist and television pundit, has
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   should not yield that policy ground to the more extreme parties.

   With the German parliamentary election unlikely to produce a
   post-Angela Merkel government until next year, Mr Macron can use the
   freedom of a divided and squabbling opposition to concentrate on his
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   Leader of French far-right party Rassemblement National and
   presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is struggling to get significant
   backing ahead of the country's presidential elections. AFP

   Leader of French far-right party Rassemblement National and
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   Leader of French far-right party Rassemblement National and
   presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is struggling to get significant
   backing ahead of the country's presidential elections. AFP

   Other candidates are chewed up in melee. On the left, the Socialist
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   own interests.

   Before you know it, French election year will shift into global focus
   in a way that is both unpredictable and probably even upending.
   Published: October 2nd 2021, 2:00 PM