After his centrist coalition suffered a humiliating loss to the far right in European elections early last month, French President Emanuelle Macron called snap elections for France’s own Parliament in hopes of pushing back.

Instead, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally continued their momentum and won the first round of voting last Sunday.

So will Macron’s election gamble backfire? Why are the far right surging? And what would it mean for Europe and the world if they took power in the final round of voting this weekend?

Don Murray is a freelance journalist currently in Southern France. For years, he covered Europe for CBC as a reporter and documentary maker.

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