 that's been closely watched in Europe and beyond. The far-right National Rally won the first round, but opinion polls indicate it's now likely to fall short of an absolute majority. Hugh Schofield reports. The stakes are very high in these elections and the country is on edge. Could the populist right of Marine Le Pen, building on the mutinous mood of provincial France, actually be on the threshold of political power? The prospect has become so real that it's conjured up a counterforce.