New Delhi, Sept. 15 -- One presidential hopeful donned an apron and served frites from a food truck. Another put on a harness and climbed to the top of a wind turbine. Yet another launched a "1,000 bistros" listening tour. Gimmicky showmanship means that presidential-election season is under way. At a two-round vote next April and May the French will elect a successor to Emmanuel Macron, who cannot stand for a third consecutive term. Polls consistently favour Marine Le Pen of the populist-right National Rally (RN), who launched her campaign on September 13th. With seven months to go, therefore, the presidential race has turned into a single question: who can beat Ms Le Pen?

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MI...