French election 2017: Why is it important?
France's voters have rejected the two big political parties that have governed for decades and are now at a crossroads as they choose a president. Will they go for a pro-European liberal who has never before been elected, or a far-right challenger to the establishment, who has vowed to take on globalisation and France's relationship with the EU? After the Brexit vote in the UK and the election of US President Donald Trump, France is the latest country to deal a blow to politics as usual. What is new about this election? The Socialists and the centre right have run France since the 1950s, but the old model has been shattered. An unpopular and divided ruling Socialist party and a Republican candidate in the crosshairs of judicial inquiry have cleared the way for a president who has never been elected to the French National Assembly.