The fight between President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen in Sunday's European election in France mirrors a larger battle across the continent between competing visions of bloc's future.
"Symbolically, losing European elections in his own country would be seen as a repudiation of someone so pro-European," said Sebastien Maillard, director of the Jacques Delors Institute think-tank.
Macron has made no secret of the significance he attaches to the polls, telling regional French newspapers last week that the elections were the most important for four decades as the union faced an"existential threat". Sources close to Macron say a bad loss to Le Pen's National Rally could prompt a major cabinet reshuffle, with the job of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in the balance.After re-branding her party -- previously known as the National Front -- and overhauling its programme, Le Pen has campaigned since January with the head of state in her sights.
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