The Observer view on the French election: Emmanuel Macron is

The president wants to save France from itself, but he may just be handing the country over to the far right

Those complaining about the tedium and predictability of the UK’s general election must gaze with envy across the Channel to France, a country suddenly plunged into a frenzy of electoral uncertainty. And those in Britain who bemoan a lack of bold leadership cannot but note the contrast presented by its president, Emmanuel Macron, who may be arrogant and impetuous but is certainly not lacking in political courage.

Audacity was the quality most esteemed by the French revolutionary Georges Danton (although it ultimately led him to the guillotine), and this Macron possesses in abundance. It enabled his storming of the presidency in 2017 at the youngest-ever age of 39. It has sustained him through successive national upheavals and an approval rating stuck at under 35%. Now it has led him to call a snap parliamentary election at the very moment his far-right enemies enjoy record support.