The French election – the fight to be in the final two
Le Pen might not even get on the first round ballot
The big 2022 election in Europe is the French one which takes place on two Sundays in April two weeks apart.
This two-stage process means that any number of contenders can seek to put themselves forward in the first stage and it is the top two in votes that take part in the final runoff two weeks later.
The first hurdle that contenders have to surmount is getting 500 people to back their nomination and this is what is dominating French coverage at the moment,
The backers, known at Parrainnages, have to be various elected officials but there is a requirement that there is a full geographical spread of where they come from. It is here that some of the bigger names have been having problems.
Wikipedia has a regularly updated list here and as can be seen Marine Le Pen, second favorite in the betting, is on 366 and could be struggling. It is being reported tonight that could be suspending her campaign to focus getting the remaining Parrainnages.