Paris and Marseille are held by the Socialists in local elections which saw the nationalist right win in Nice and certain towns.
"We had no sense of having committed an offence," France's far-right leader tells an appeal to overturn a ban from contesting the next election.
The country is at the conjuncture of several crises at once - but is it fair to blame Macron for 'this shipwreck'?
François Bayrou called a vote of confidence in himself after nine relatively ineffectual months in office.
The French far-right politician spoke to a rally in Paris after being found guilty of embezzling EU funds.
Could the National Rally retaliate in parliament by attempting to bring down the fragile coalition government?
Marine Le Pen has said a "nuclear bomb" was used against her party to stop it getting into power.
European rightwingers have voiced support for the French far-right politician after she was banned from running for public office.
The far-right figurehead has been barred from running for public office for five years, throwing her plans into disarray.
