There is an old saying in French politics that people vote with their hearts in the first round of a presidential election and with their heads in the second. This dictum no longer holds.
In this year’s election, French citizens voted tactically from the start, supporting the candidate from their own bloc who was most likely to win.
In the first round of the election in April, this dynamic advanced the presidential bids of far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, with French President Emmanuel Macron holding the center.
Now, the pattern has been repeated in the