Macron attends the Saudi-French Business Forum during an official visit to Riyadh, as his government was fighting for survival at home, on Dec. 3.
Photographer: Jeanne Accorsini/AFP/Getty Images
The Big Take
Macron’s Grand Project in Ruins After French Government Falls
The country has never been closer to a Le Pen administration — the one thing President Macron has sought to avoid at all costs.
Emmanuel Macron pitched himself as a bulwark against the rise of the far right in France when he burst onto the highest political stage and became president in 2017.
The leader of the European Union’s second-biggest economy has instead ushered in a period where far-right leader Marine Le Pen is not only the chief power broker in Paris, she’s closer than ever to the ultimate prize: the Elysee Palace.