Story highlights The race to be the next leader of France is one with implications not only for the US, but also for the rest of the world

Even before Trump and Obama got involved, the French election was already regarded as the latest test of the sweeping global populism that led to Brexit

(CNN) A presidential election in France is not usually the sort of thing that I would tell you to pay attention to. After all, it's hard enough to convince people that they should pay attention to elections in this country.

But, even before the latest terror attack in the country earlier this week, the race to be the next leader of France was one with implications not only for the US but for the rest of the world.

The reason is the presence of Marine Le Pen in the race. Le Pen, who most polls suggest will finish first or second when the first round of voting concludes Sunday night in France, is an avowed nationalist who has taken a hard-line approach on immigration and Islamic terrorism.

In the wake of the shootings on the Champs Elysees Thursday that left a police officer dead, Le Pen called for the closing of all "Islamist" mosques in the country and the immediate expulsion of those on France's equivalent of a terror watch list.

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That episode is widely speculated as likely to aid Le Pen in the final hours of the campaign, reinforcing the dangers posed by terrorism. (ISIS has claimed credit for the attack.) President Trump joined that speculation in an interview with the Associated Press Friday in which he said the latest attack will "probably help" Le Pen.