Here are the French presidential candidates called "the three Musketeers"

The war in Ukraine has had a strong effect on the presidential election, according to Delphine Dulong, a political scientist at the University of Paris.

The three candidates who have made themselves known for being pro-Putin have overnight been forced to change their speeches.

It seems to have affected the pro-Russian candidates on the right wing more negatively than the pro-Russian candidate on the left wing Jean-Luc Mélenchon, she tells SVT's Agenda.

President Emmanuel Macron, who at the beginning of the war saw his numbers soar, has lost something in recent weeks.

But still leads big ahead of the challengers.

And has, according to Professor Delphine Dulong, been able to take advantage of the war to some extent.

- It is striking how the incumbent President Macron does not campaign.

Of course it's true that he does not have time.

But at the same time, the war in Ukraine has legitimized his tactics.

The same tactics used by previous presidents.

You do not expose yourself unnecessarily.

You know that you are the candidate that the others are trying to beat and that you will attract all kinds of criticism.

What are the three competitors doing to distance themselves from Russia, Moscow and Putin?

- They do not do much more than condemn the war.

They are trying to recover, to regain control of the tree branch, by at least condemning the war.

In the clip, SVT takes the help of the cartoonist Rolf and goes through the three candidates and their friendly attitude to Moscow before the war.