Gee, Telegraph, has there ever been a good time to be a Frenchman? Never in history has there been a culture so impressed with itself for so little reason. True, they can whip up a tasty plate of grub (if you're not too squeamish about the ingredients), but that's a pretty weak foundation to build a reputation on.
With all the legitimate reasons for trashing France, focusing on who finishes second in a race seems a mite silly. One gets the feeling that they wouldn't feel alarmed in the least if the Communists finished second. Le Pen won't come close to prevailing in the runoff; I'm guessing Chirac will win by something like 70-30. The real danger is that the leftists will attempt to take credit for Chirac's win, and demand cabinet positions and legislative concessions.
Well, it seems silly to us, but we have a winner-take-all system. In France, second place actually does mean something- a shot at the runoff. And while I agree that Le Pen probably won't win, I can hope. And no one expected him to get this far, which has caused a seed of fear to be planted in the socialists' hearts: he did it once; what if, just what if, he does it again?