Macron sought clarity – and has brought his centrist project tumbling down

Macron had sought to wrongfoot the RN and the left with a lightning-speed election in which he believed he could frighten voters into backing his centrists. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

When Emmanuel Macron strolled through the seaside resort of Le Touquet on Sunday afternoon, near his holiday home, dressed in a leather jacket with his collar up and aviator shades, smiling and asking passersby how they were doing, he seemed a world away from the fact that his gamble of a snap election was about to dramatically backfire.

Macron had said he needed “clarity” three weeks ago, when he shocked even his own government ministers by calling a high-risk sudden parliament election after his centrists were trounced by the far-right National Rally (RN) in the European parliament vote.