Marine Le Pen has tied her electoral fate directly to the fate of the Euro in France. Appearing on Europe 1 , Marine Le Pen told a national TV audience that she would resign the presidency should the French should not vote to dump the Euro in her proposed referendum.

Le Pen’s reason: She doesn’t think that

politics is like a rodeo … I’m not on horseback hoping for one thing, which is not to fall without going anyplace. I want to go somewhere. If the French tell me ‘we don’t want to let you go there,’ I’ll leave them the possibility of choosing another president.”

But Le Pen probably has another reason as well. Centre-Leftish candidate Emmanuel Macron has risen quickly from relative obscurity to poll even with her, and is virtually certain to be her fellow-finalist in the second round. Her pledge makes the differences between them even more stark. It may push her ahead of Macron in the first round and give her more momentum for the second, when the Establishment parties are expected to close ranks to ensure she cannot win, as it did against her father in 2002

French patriots, and all friends of the nation-state, should hope Le Pen’s bold gamble pays off.