IT'S A CONSERVATIVE EPOCH:

Five years ago, Emmanuel Macron was 'en marche' to his improbable ascent to the presidency of France. Last night, having united France against him, the certitude that he will be re-elected in 270 days has evaporated.

Results of the second round of regional elections can only be described as a disaster for the President. His bespoke political party, La République en Marche, has collapsed. And worse, his preferred presidential opponent, Marine Le Pen, lost any remaining credibility as a serious alternative. That could leave him facing a traditional conservative next year - one who might not be eliminated in advance, as François Fillon was last time, by a convenient criminal investigation.

The message is loud and clear. French voters are weary of the sight of both Macron and Le Pen. Macron has failed to deliver any substantial element of his reform programme, has demonstrated an inability to come to grips with a deteriorating security problem, fumbled the Covid crisis, and is obsessed with a European ideology that does not resonate at all with voters.

Le Pen's failure to present anything resembling a coherent plan to extract France from its social and economic crisis, and her flailing efforts to present herself as a moderate, produced not a single regional or departmental victory. It's difficult to choose which one is more disagreeable to the electorate.

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