Germany and France caught in the cordon sanitaire trap

EDITORIAL. Strategies of unity to block populists in Saxony-Anhalt and in France ahead of 2027 risk fuelling the very anger they seek to contain. The anti-system vote can then present itself as the only alternative A sweeping victory for a far-right party in Germany inevitably carries something both symbolic and frightening. Even if it is only a regional election in the small state of Saxony-Anhalt. The reactions are therefore naturally very strong — in the Federal Republic and beyond. But since the Alternative for Germany (AfD) did not win an outright majority in Sunday's vote, a different question now arises — one that is increasingly problematic and recurrent across Europe: should a cordon sanitaire be erected to keep the far right out of government?