Emmanuel who? Far-right fighting hard-left for French vote

Pressure has been mounting since the April presidential election when Macron won a second mandate, beating far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the run-off to quash her third bid for the job.The pot bubbled over when Le Pen’s political nemesis, hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, clinched alliances with a swath of leftist parties, positioning himself to outdo both her and, he hopes, Macron, in June.So for now, Le Pen sees Melenchon as her main opponent, as she seeks to keep her National Rally party politically relevant with a good showing in parliament.Her party’s campaign slogan, “The Only Opposition to Macron,” attests to her rivalry with the hard-left leader.Melenchon himself, bolstered by his alliances, has set his sights higher, declaring that he will steal Macron’s majority to become France’s next prime minister — an appointment made by the president alone.Le Pen’s hopes are less grandiose: to create a “powerful” parliamentary group — at least 15 lawmakers — that would accord her anti-immigration party more speaking time and other privileges so it can be heard, and harass the powerful.Le Pen mocks Melenchon as the “court jester” who will never be prime minister.