With violence in the streets and fiery rhetoric coming from the politicians and activists, France is arguably more divided than at any time since the riots of May 1968. But both sides agree the stakes in the second round of the upcoming French presidential election are nothing less than existential.

National Front candidate Marine Le Pen claims "the survival of France" is on the ballot in the second round of the French presidential election. Her opponent, heavily favored independent candidate Emmanuel Macron, accuses Le Pen of representing the party of "hate," being a threat to "free democracy" and even someone who wants to push France into "civil war."

Of course, some would argue such a conflict in Europe is inevitable regardless of what happens. On May 1, May Day, mobs of left-wing "antifa" attacked police, even setting fire to some officers with Molotov cocktails. Businesses were also smashed and property destroyed.

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Though the protesters clearly were against Marine Le Pen, they also claimed to be against Macron, a former banker. Recent polls suggest two-thirds of the supporters of far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who had a surprisingly strong showing in the first round, will not vote for Macron. This has led to panic among some liberal intellectuals, who fear voter apathy could hand Marine Le Pen a surprise victory.

"Emmanuel Macron has, for some among you, the face of the enemy, but he is not the enemy," ranted Johan Hufnagel of the leftist newspaper Liberation. "It's definitely Marine Le Pen, the ally of racists, anti-Semites, Holocaust deniers, violent groups and homophobes, who is the enemy of democracy and the French Republic. To give her one single vote would silence the struggles of the left which we lead, and the battles we have fought against the extreme right."

Le Pen has, in recent days, surged in the polls while Macron has sharply dropped. But Macron still holds a commanding lead of 61 to 39 percent. Le Pen won the endorsement of moderate conservative and self-described "Gaullist" Nicolas Dupont-Aignan and announced the formation of an alliance. However, the main conservative candidate, Francois Fillon of the Républicains Party, has urged his supporters to vote against Le Pen, saying there is "no choice."

Indeed, even the far-left Melenchon is being pilloried by the media for not endorsing Macron against Le Pen.

The seamless unity between all elements of the political establishment against the nationalists is termed the "Republican Front" by proponents, with Le Pen's vow to limit Islamic immigration and restore French sovereignty presented as nothing less than an existential threat.

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American observers call it striking.

"All the forces of hell are lined up against Marine Le Pen," said Joseph Farah, WND founder and president and author of "The Restitution of All Things." He argued it is a clear choice between electing Le Pen or watching France and eventually all of Europe become Islamic.

One of Le Pen’s most vocal American backers is Paul Nehlen, the populist Republican who challenged Speaker of the House Paul Ryan in a primary and the producer and director of the new documentary "Hijrah: Radical Islam's Global Invasion." He has endorsed Le Pen and believes if Le Pen does not win, France is in danger of vanishing altogether.

"I'm not sure what it is going to take for the West to wake up," Nehlen told WND. "France is constantly on high alert and is in continuous danger of a terrorist attack from its own Muslim population. The share of the population that is Muslim is increasing dramatically, and Muslims are more comfortable flexing their political and cultural muscle. And the French authorities seem to not only be OK with this, but crack down brutally on anyone who opposes the dispossession and subjugation of the French people. If this isn't treason and surrender, I don't know what is.

"Marine Le Pen is, so far as I can tell, the only figure in the French political mainstream who actually seems to be defending the French, as opposed to deliberately trying to destroy them."

Indeed, Macron does seem to be animated by a strange loathing for the people he aims to represent. Macron has declared, "French culture does not exist," defining one of richest and most sophisticated cultures in world history as simply consisting of being "diverse."

Terrorism, mused Macron, will simply be "part of our daily lives for years to come." Macron has also defended accepting Islamic migrants, and has even vowed to push for sanctions on Poland for not accepting enough Muslims and Hungary for cracking down on a university operated by George Soros.

Nehlen called Macron both weak and hollow, characterizing him as an empty suit dedicated to enforcing a globalist agenda.

"Macron seems to have a genuine antipathy both to France and Western civilization in general," he charged. "He sees his country simply as a market, his culture as nonexistent and his people as obstacles to his agenda which should be replaced as soon as possible. If the French are to continue to exist as a nation, this man cannot be their leader."

Though, after the victories of Brexit and Donald Trump, few would say they can predict the political future, it still appears all but inevitable Macron will win. If that happens, Nehlen said, French patriots need to resist as vigorously as possible.

"If mass immigration continues, France, and eventually all Europe, becomes Islamic," he mourned. "If that happens, everything our civilization has created, including our liberties, our prosperity and our culture fade into nothingness. You cannot appease Islam or pretend you don't know where this is all going. France needs Marine Le Pen right now. And so does the entire West. If she doesn't win, I hope she and all of her supporters continue the fight."

It's an Islamic invasion which could end our civilization forever. And it's being enabled by the very people who are supposed to protect us. Discover the terrifying truth behind our culture's oldest enemy and unveil the darkest treason in the history of Western Civilization. Brought to you by Paul Nehlen, the man who challenged Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, "Hijrah" is the most explosive documentary of the year, and it’s available now in the WND Superstore.