In the southern French city of Perpignan, the far-right mayor Louis Aliot says he has succeeded in de-demonising his party's image and even won new supporters as he bolsters police numbers, hosts literacy classes and cleans up the streets.
While his critics say they have seen no significant improvements in Perpignan under Aliot, according to the mayor his city of 120,000, the largest in France run by the far right, is a harbinger of what lies ahead when voters head to polling stations in a two-round presidential election this month.
