Most of us would have been mightily relieved when French President Emmanuel Macron was returned to office last Sunday with 58.55 per cent of the vote. For those who are anxious about the state of democracy worldwide, however, it is worth noting that his ultra-right-wing opponent, Marine Le Pen, secured 41.45 of the vote, which is 7 per cent more than she won in 2017.

Her support is rising, Macron’s fell from 66 per cent last time, and even in this most critical of elections, with French democracy and its future in Europe at stake, a full 28 per cent of the French electorate did not bother to vote.