FRANCE is in a deep systemic crisis of the kind that has punctuated its history with violent eruptions. We index them by the years in which they took place from 1789 onwards.

The panicked election for the National Assembly called by President Emmanuel Macron following his party’s humiliation in the European elections, means France in three weeks could have: a fascist prime minister, or a prime minister on a left programme that bosses are screaming is “anti-capitalist,” or no prime minister plus chaos in the government. All with eruptions on the street bigger than those already taking place. Hundreds of thousands protested at the weekend against Marine Le Pen and her far-right National Rally (RN) that topped the European election.

Polling for the legislative election is volatile. The RN is at about 32 per cent. Macron’s liberal-centrist party on 18 per cent. The main opposition to the right is from an alliance of left and centre-left parties, the Popular Front, drawn up last week. It has 28 per cent.