The second round of the French Presidential elections will be held on Sunday, April 24. Regarded as one of Europe’s most defining elections, the face-off between the two candidates – incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and his adversary Marine Le-Pen – is a crucial one, not only for the country, but also for the European Union.Elections 2022: Business not as usualThis election is different in ways more than one.First, it has shown that France’s main political parties, the mainstream Right, the Republicans, and the Socialist Left, which have dominated French politics for over half a century, are today a dying breed. A trend that started in 2017 with Macron’s position of “neither Left nor Right” has created an ecosystem wherein France’s traditional political parties have lost their very raison d’être.President Macron’s policies largely resemble the mainstream Right’s core priorities like increasing the retirement age to 65 years, prioritising economic reforms and incentivising foreign investments.By usurping the traditional Right’s position on the political spectrum and taking the “centre” stage, Emmanuel Macron has at once made the moderate Left and Right parties redundant and ceded space to radical parties like Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s extreme Left party, La France Insoumise, and Eric Zemmour’s newly founded extreme right party Reconquête and Marine Le Pen’s extreme-right party, Rassemblement National.Also read: French Election: Can President Macron Tide Over the Threat Posed by Left-Wing Vote?While Mélenchon and Zemmour were eliminated in the first round earlier this month, it is worth noting that the former’s supporters will determine the fate of the two final candidates this weekend. A high abstention of disenchanted voters, both young and old alike, will be the hallmark of this election.Second, there is a sharp uptick in the ideological overtone.In resonance with the global rise of populism, the race to the Elysée, could be seen as a competition between two very diverse universes. Macron, often criticised as the “President of the rich”, is considered the choice of the elites, and Le Pen of the common people.French President Emmanuel Macron, candidate for his re-election, and French far-right Rassemblement National party presidential candidate Marine Le Pen sit prior to taking part in a French presidential election debate, in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, France April 20, 2022. Photo: Reuters.On several occasions, she has unsparingly lashed out at him of favouring big businesses and has drummed up the populist rhetoric to fan the frustrations of people who felt let down by his 2017 economic reforms.A good example is the Yellow Vest protests that started in November 2018 as a response to the unpopular fuel tax that the government introduced as a measure to finance the country’s transition to a green economy. Apparently, this was a way to plug the deficit that tax cuts for big businesses had engendered.Rural parts of France that rely on cars due to the lack of well-developed public transport systems were most affected by this decision. Protests erupted in every part of the country bringing normal life to a standstill. Disenchanted workers, truck drivers and later students joined the protests to force the government to roll back the decision. This chapter of the Macron presidency will play an important role in the voting pattern this weekend.In addition, President Macron’s infamous “Jupiterian” model of governance characterised by his distant and elitist approach has only deepened the ideological cleavage and made it a determining aspect of this election.Third, the elections are taking place under the looming shadow of the global Covid pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia conflict. France was one of the European countries that was worst hit by the pandemic. The crisis brought to light the weaknesses of the health infrastructure in the country that resulted in a large number of deaths. The Ukrainian crisis is expected to also have an impact on the economic as well as geopolitical aspects.Macron or Le Pen? President Macron’s five-year tenure is a chequered one. While there have been some important gains, it has also had to weather grave challenges.With a landslide victory in 2017, Emmanuel Macron took over the reins from his predecessor, the socialist leader, Francois Hollande, with the promise of important economic reforms aimed at reducing the rate of unemployment, reforming the labour market, and putting the country on the fast track to economic growth.At the end of his five-year term, Macron can claim to have fulfilled his election promises – France’s GDP is at 7%, unemployment has reduced to 7.4%, the lowest since 2008, and according to the EY Consulting’s Attractive Index, France is today, Europe’s most attractive country for foreign investments.The President’s detractors have a different story to tell. Labeled as a pro-business President, the Macron Reforms of 2017 have had an adverse impact on the security and quality of jobs. The reforms have made it easy for companies to dismiss their employees and have also set the limit for damages that they can claim.In addition, it is left to individual tribunals to decide on the damages awarded, which may vary widely. Currently, companies offer low-security jobs – part-time and temporary contracts – and while this trend has contributed considerably to reducing the unemployment rate, it has ushered in a high level of insecurity. According to Insee (The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies), in 2020, 3.3 million people, translating to roughly 12.4% of employment, were engaged in low-security jobs.Macron’s critics also lament the waning of the quality of jobs. Job-seekers now have to content themselves with openings in low-value-added commercial jobs in small businesses and micro-enterprises.France’s trade balance remains a major preoccupation of the government. The country posted a trade deficit of 65.2 billion USD in 2020.On the foreign policy front, President Macron has had many successes, but has also had to face numerous challenges. The President has played a vital role to bring France back to the global centre stage and to be recognised once again as an important global actor.However, the AUKUS debacle which left France out in the cold, created a major diplomatic row with the United States, the UK and Australia. The other major challenge was the termination of Operation Barkhane in Mali. The intervention of Russia’s Wagner group has created tensions between France and Russia; recently, the former claimed that the company had staged the so-called “French atrocity” in Mali.At the European level, France has assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. A strong defender of the bloc, Macron believes in the unity of the EU and has had a firm policy of solidarity vis-à-vis Ukraine. France has accepted almost 40,000 Ukrainian refugees to date.As was evident in the final debate on April 21 between the two contenders, Marine Le Pen failed to project herself as the next President of the Republic. Apart from reminding voters of the rising costs of living, of the existential threat that immigration poses to France and the promise of a referendum, she was unable to present a clear and coherent strategy with regard to important issues like post-pandemic economic revival and crucial foreign policy priorities.A Eurosceptic to the core, Marine Le Pen would like France to quit the EU. As mentioned earlier, this election is being fought against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis which has brought Europe closer. At a time like this, the idea of Frexit is not a saleable one.Her close association with the Russians during the 2017 elections has also surfaced and loomed large in her adversary’s offensive. The issue of the Muslim headscarf and matters related to immigration pale against the security priorities that the Ukrainian crisis has placed at Europe’s doorstep.What lies ahead? It is quite evident that President Emmanuel Macron will win the second round. Soon after the debate on Thursday, the opinion polls showed Macron at 55 % as opposed to Le Pen at 45%. Sunday’s election will also witness a very high rate of abstention, a phenomenon, that is reminiscent of the 2017 election.The other important point to note is that France has a challenge before it. The far-right has consolidated its position and with every election, they have managed to move closer to the cherished goal of winning the race to the Élysée.Shivali Lawale is the director of Symbiosis School of International Studies.