France’s Big Decision

<p>When they go to the polls on Sunday, voters in France will be faced with the same two presidential candidates as 2017: Emmanuel Macron, the president and a polished centrist, and Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally party.</p><p>Yet the context is different. There is a war in Europe, and the contest is tight.</p><p>What are the stakes in the runoff election, and how has the race become so close?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/roger-cohen?smid=pc-thedaily">Roger Cohen</a>, Paris bureau chief for The New York Times.</p><p>Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>President Emmanuel Macron will face Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader, in the runoff on Sunday. The outcome will be<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/france-presidential-election-2022.html"> crucial for France and reverberate globally</a>.</li><li>No French president has been the object of such intense dislike among significant segments of the population as Mr. Macron. How deep that loathing runs will be<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/world/europe/france-macron-unpopular.html"> a critical factor in the election</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>