Hello, I'm Rory Stewart, author, broadcaster, and former Cabinet Minister.

In my book Politics on the Edge, I tell the inside story of the extraordinary challenges of our

age.

As we approach the election, I hope it gives you an insight into political life,

while also shedding light on everything that's absurd, sometimes even funny about the struggles of everyday government.

Politics on the edge by me, Rory Stewart, is out now in paperback and

audio book, brought to you by vintage.

So this is some of the most important elections in the history of post-war France,

perhaps the most important election in post-war France.

Emmanuel Macron, the president, has dissolved the legislature after he got a battering in the

European elections. This may well bring potentially these elections could

end up with a far right government in power.

Maureen Le Pen of course was the is the far right figurehead who in the last presidential

elections got a much closer result than ever before.

Equally, the left, contrary to some expectations, managed to come together with a popular front

around a social democratic platform but in the polls the far right

or ahead now there's no better person to speak to about this in called Stangler who is a brilliant journalist based in France

he's the author of Paris isn't dead yet. Do you make sure you get a copy

that book but also he's got another book he's working on with Fed's editors at the moment.

Hey Cole, how you doing? Good, thanks for having me on.

How bad is this really, I suppose?

How serious is this in terms of what could happen?

...