Something extraordinary is happening in France, as the presidential election is looming less than two weeks away.  Support for the establishment candidates of the center-left and right is falling away, while a former Trotskyite and the far-right candidates are on the rise. Centrist Emmanuel Macron and conservative François Fillon were thought at one time to be the frontrunners who would battle it out in the second round of presidential voting next month.  The first round takes place on April 23, where the top two finishers will move on. But Fillon's campaign has been racked by scandal, and Macron has been closely identified with the current administration of President Hollande.  This has given an opening to a radical far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, whose soak-the-rich platform includes a mandatory 100% tax on French incomes over 360,000 euros.  Melenchon has surged from single digits to draw within just a few points of the lead. His...(Read Full Post)