A pessimist might have concluded that the lights were going out in Europe, with the far right ascendant in France, Germany and beyond.
On Sunday, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally was supposed to cement this narrative by winning the most seats in the second round of the French legislative elections. But it was not to be. The leftwing New Popular Front – an alliance whose largest cohort, La France Insoumise, is led by the unapologetically radical Jean-Luc Mélenchon – came top instead, surprising observers and delighting the country’s antifascist left.
