The stakes for France's 2027 election could hardly be higher. For the first time since World War II, a far-right party has a serious chance of taking power in France, the European Union's second-largest economy and its only nuclear power.
Polls project far-right leader Marine Le Pen has her best shot of winning the Elysée Palace on her fourth attempt, as she benefits from one of the most fractured political landscapes in modern French history, with a multitude of candidates vying for support and traditional political forces weaker than ever.
More than 30 declared or potential candidates from the left, centre and right are competing for voters outside the far-right and hard-left camps, eight months ahead of the polls.
Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron cannot run again after a decade in office.
READ ALSO: OPINION: Le Pen looks unbeatable, but her own arrogance and laziness may be her undoing
