As the 11 candidates vying for the French presidency were making their last televised bids to the electorate on the evening of April 20, news broke that a policeman had been killed in an attack on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility, though this has not yet been confirmed, and an investigation was launched by French anti-terror police. Leading right-wing candidates François Fillon and Marine Le Pen cancelled their last public campaign rallies ahead of the first round of voting on April 23.
The Conversation asked Eglantine Staunton, research