The irony is unlikely to be lost on Emmanuel Macron: while France’s fire-struck Notre-Dame cathedral is to reopen after being saved in extremis from total collapse, the country’s government is about to come crashing down.

France’s far-right leader has brought the government to its knees. Now, with the country in political turmoil, she has the president in her sights.

Marine Le Pen’s ultimatum to French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, even after he caved on a key demand from her party, lays bare the unprecedented clout the far-right leader now wields in Paris’ halls of power.