“The two extremes lead to civil war,” French President Emmanuel Macron said this week, ahead of Sunday's parliamentary elections. He was referring to the far-right National Rally party (RN) and the leftwing party France Unbowed (LFI), which is part of a new broad left-wing alliance. A strategy which equates both parties as “extreme”, with the goal of convince French voters that his centrist coalition represents the only reasonable choice.

This rhetoric of 'me or chaos' began after his abrupt decision to dissolve the National Assembly on the night of the European election results. Since then, Macron has focussed most of his attacks on the left, drawing vocabulary from the reactionary right to discredit the new leftwing alliance. His main target has been Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the controversial leader of LFI, who has been relentlessly accused of antisemitism due to his staunch defence of Palestinians.

The demonisation campaign is not new in Macron's presidency, who has repeatedly positioned himself as the only credible alternative to the far right. This was stirred further following October 7, with attacks from all sides to tar LFI with the brush of antisemitism. This 'red scare' has grown in parallel with excessive media coverage of the RN in recent months.