After regional polls, is Le Pen further away from the presidency?

The French far right, like Macron’s centrists, performed poorly in recent regional polls, while conservatives gained.

Paris, France – France’s far-right National Rally party did not receive the victories many pundits and polls had predicted in the first round of Sunday’s regional elections, a sharp setback for Marine Le Pen as she looks to cement her party’s legitimacy before next year’s presidential race. While regional elections do not typically carry significant weight in France, analysts kept a close eye on this year’s race seeking clues into next year’s critical vote. Pre-election polls projected the National Rally could take half of the country’s 12 mainland regions.