The Economist: ‘In Parisian circles, among peers called Charles or Arthur, Mr Bardella was “taunted”, he says, over his working-class name: “I may have grown up ten minutes from the edge of Paris, but it was a different world.”’

And: ‘Today Mr Bardella is a celebrity; he even dates an Italian princess of the Bourbon-Two Sicilies ex-royal house. Polls suggest that if he were the candidate, as the two leaders have agreed if Ms Le Pen’s ban is upheld, he would lead first-round voting by a crushing margin—and could, possibly, win the run-off.’

As well: ‘Crucially, he does not carry the Le Pen name; helpfully, he comes from le 93, France’s poorest postcode.’

And lastly: ‘Indeed he would not be the first populist to live an elite lifestyle. But the revolutionary French may be less forgiving than most.’

Populism: upward social mobility for the few, misery for many.

(a sf 2174)