Flanked by fields of corn and tree-lined ponds, Colombier-Saugnieu has a proximity to the bustling metropolis of Lyon that is only hinted at by the regular rumbling of planes in the distance. But in recent days journalists from the city have begun trekking out to the tiny commune, population 2,500, in hopes of better understanding a dynamic seemingly at play in the country’s snap parliamentary elections: the sharp divide between voters in rural and urban areas. In Colombier-Saugnieu, 54% of voters cast their ballot for the far right, anti-immigrant National Rally (RN) party – the highest in the eastern central...