Such coincidences do not escape the notice of those who are paying attention (who are the ones most likely to vote) and they lead to two possible conclusions: one is that this is a conspiracy of the elites who hold the concerns of ordinary people in contempt, and the other that it is a calculated deception devised by David Cameron with which his EU colleagues are co-operating.

In short, if Downing Street solicited the Macron intervention and the more amorphous Hollande warning that followed, then this is an unedifying cabal with its own self-serving motives. If it didn’t, then we are in a club that has some very unscrupulous members who are prepared to exploit prejudice and anxiety for the sake of an immediate goal.

Both of these possibilities rely on the assumption that the public is so inclined towards Leave that it will not be persuaded to vote Remain without being scared out of its wits. Again, there are two possible reasons for this assumption: Mr Cameron and his EU friends may have concluded that anti-EU feeling is so irrational that reasoned argument and the setting out of a positive case will never be enough, or there is, in fact, no overwhelming, completely convincing, evidence-based case for staying in.