Waiting For Le Pen

As the 2022 campaign begins, I've been thinking about 2017 when I had the thankless job of keeping vigil at Marine Le Pen's election night reception.

Le Pen’s 2017 election night headquarters in the Chalet du Lac restaurant in Paris’ Bois de Vincennes.

For the second round of France’s presidential vote on May 7, 2017, I flew to Paris for the Los Angeles Times. The idea was to scope out the mood of voters across the city. I was tasked with the duty of attending the evening reception for far-right cand…