One rally to unite them all: France's Pécresse gives hardline speech as defections mount up

She started her first big presidential rally in a bid to finally own the stage in this election. Valérie Pécresse is struggling to unite her own conservative party and to take off in the polls, despite having had an initial boost last year when she was picked to be a presidential candidate. Our campaign commentator Angela Diffley breaks down Pécresse's controversial speech, carefully designed to court both far-right voters and right-wing hardliners.

This week, we head to Germany to examine inheritance taxes. The issue might not sound very sexy, but has surprisingly emerged as a crucial one in the campaign. According to an OECD report, France is one of the rich countries that imposes the heaviest taxes. For several weeks, the Elysée hopefuls have been firing off proposals to reform a system that is widely seen as unfair. Our correspondents Anne Maillet and Nick Spicer take a look at the German system, which is far more advantageous for companies and individual taxpayers. Gifts and inheritances make up 1.38 percent of total tax revenues in France, versus 0.52 percent in Germany.

We also take the pulse of the country with our series of voters' portraits. Today, we head to Normandy to meet with a cattle breeder named Véronique Fournier.

And finally, would you be Emmanuel Macron's Valentine? Although the current frontrunner in the polls has still not yet declared his candidacy, his team has jumped on the Lovers' Day to lure young voters to the ballot box... using dating apps! Their ads invite citizens to "match with democracy". Will this initiative help tackle the country's abstention problem or will the French continue to ghost elections?

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning

Take international