Um, and if we can describe France as, let's say, being more polarized, do we mean that voters disagree more about policy, or do the French just not like each other? And increasingly, um, how has that played out in politics in terms of, uh, rejection of, let's say, centrist parties? Um, is France becoming also, uh, more polarized, uh, politically?

Yes.

Before I answer your question about polarization, I think I, I would like to mention, uh, a very interesting opinion poll that was, uh, released, uh, over the weekend about who supports in the strikes, uh, or the protests in France, the student protests, the young protests.

And it was very interesting that the left-right divide, which is very important to understand French politics, the left-right divide was, um, alive in a sense that, uh, people who largely supported, um, uh, uh, the, the young protesters tend to vote for left-wing parties, and those who are skeptical or critical or against, uh, the protests tend to vote for right-wing or far-right parties.

So it's very interesting to see that, uh, the perception for voters.

So it, it is the, the, the protests are still at the moment have the sympathy and support of a majority of French people, French voters, that is, 'cause they'll soon be voting.

But it, it's largely because there's an o- overwhelming support on the left.

... which many people have failed to do since World War II.

Um, first of all, why do you think these protests have grown and spread so much?

Uh, good afternoon.

Uh, why and how? This is really the, the one million dollar question.

It's, it's very hard to explain how a social movement of that type, particularly when it concerns, uh, lycéens or students, why does it, uh, break out, appear on, on the scene? It, it started off, as we know now, in the banlieue of Paris, in Créteil exactly, so, uh, in the outskirts, and it was very localized.

It was just one lycée, and that's why the government, the government's initial reaction, or lack of it, if you like, was very lame.

They was-- they treated it as a very local affair, some handful, a handful of disgruntled lycéens were unhappy about their working conditions, so hoping it will, uh, sort of vanish, uh, as soon as it had emerged.

It wasn't the case.

And, and is it young, is it young people feeling that they're gonna be worse off than their parents, do you think?

I am wondering if there was anything in his background that drove him towards National Rally, a party more commonly associated with policies closer to the far right.

When he joined the party, he was asked several times, why did you join the party? And one of the answers was, it's because of Marine.

I love Marine.

He's a fervent admirer and supporter of Marine Le Pen.

I'm not sure if it's still the case today since it's been discarded, but that's what he said then.

It is helpful to talk a little bit about his background.

He was born in Seine-Saint-Denis, which is in northeast of Paris.

Would he be a president that parties of the centre-right, the centre-left, countries like the United Kingdom, would they be able to do business with him, do you think?

Comment ces journaux plus sérieux que les tabloïds, euh, qui nous ont habitués depuis longtemps à leurs outrances, là, on est allé très très loin, mais comment ces journaux plus sérieux ont-ils repris cette affaire ?

Oui, alors, je l'ai dit, il y a la presse de droite qui s'en mêle.

Une presse de droite qui d'ailleurs n'est pas une, une presse d'extrême droite ou confidentielle, hein, ce sont des quotidiens tels The Times ou The Telegraph qui sont bien à droite, mais tout à fait des quotidiens très connus, très lus et très respectables.

Et, euh, ce qui est plus intéressant et peut-être étonnant même, c'est qu'un quotidien de gauche, le quotidien de gauche le plus connu au Royaume-Uni, The Guardian, qui aussi publie, euh, plusieurs articles sur cette période très courte de deux semaines.

Hein, plusieurs articles, notamment un article qui reprend, euh, un à un les, les arguments ou les accusations, hein, puisque actuellement, il y a toujours une enquête qui dev-- doit être menée.

Je crois qu'il faut être très prudent sur les accusations de plagiat notamment, et qui reprend donc tous ces arguments, y compris les a-, les, les accusations d'embellissement de CV sur des activités extracurriculaires, notamment sportives, de, de collecte de, de fonds pour œuvres caritatives, toutes choses que Jess Norday aurait exagérées pour embellir son CV.

Donc The Guardian, euh, qui ne peut pas être suspecté d'être un, un quotidien réactionnaire ou indifférent aux questions de, de diversité, euh, par l'entremise d'ailleurs d'un journaliste noir, je crois qu'il faut dire, parce que celui-ci a effectivement dit : « J'ai fait une enquête très approfondie et, euh, pour moi, ça a été très dur parce qu'effectivement, ce n'est pas une chose que j'aurais aimé révéler, mettre à jour, mais effectivement, les faits sont là.

Est-ce que Cambridge a déjà été confronté à des accusations de plagiat ? Comment, euh, réagit l'université dans ces cas-là en général ?

Philippe, we've spoken of Jordan Bardella's popularity within France among the youth, but France's election matters far beyond its borders, doesn't it? What are the biggest concerns in Brussels in particular if Marine Le Pen wins? Because I think it's fair to say they were hoping the candidate would be Bardella.

Possibly, although I should add on the Bardella thing, I think it takes, to get elected French president, it takes a bit more than a good image on TikTok with the young.

And I think that was always the big question mark regarding Bardella.

He's totally untested.

politically and therefore and also focus groups are showing if you study them at the moment they are quite a few showing people saying we can't relate to this man we don't know what he does what he likes to do in private and that's really a problem whereas Le Pen's been around for a very long time she might wear that quite toxic name Le Pen she belongs in the the Le Pen dynasty.

However, she's been around for a long time.

So now when it comes to policies, well, I think Le Pen is probably, her agenda is probably more firm and known than Bardella's.

What themes do you think will dominate for Marine Le Pen?

Why do you think she didn't?

You're right.

First of all, it seemed to be the plan, the plan that, and I think even herself at some point must have given up on being for the fourth time a candidate.

And I think what happened is the Court of Appeals' judgment, which I think completely changed the situation by reducing quite dramatically some of the provisions of the initial verdict.

judges allowed Le Pen to make that choice.

And it's a matter of choice because it's not, in my opinion, a straightforward decision.

She could have said, well, I'm not going to run this time around because, frankly, there's a lot of issues and complications down the line, one of them being If she runs now, she may have to carry out part or most of the campaign with an electronic tag around her ankle because it's part of the guilty verdict.

But if it's somebody else, do you think she could win this time?