The second round of France's presidential elections will determine the country's course for the next five years.
Despite a strong first-round showing from the far-right's Marine Le Pen that is now weighing on the outcome, the 6 May runoff will – as has long been forecast – be between the Socialist frontrunner François Hollande and the centre-right incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy.
The result will obviously have far-reaching consequences for France, and maybe also within Europe: a Hollande victory could set Paris on a collision course with Berlin over Germany's unbending insistence on continued tough eurozone austerity.
It will also, plainly, affect individuals.
Over the coming week, in the runup to next Sunday's deciding poll, I will be travelling through France, from Marseille up to Paris and beyond, in search of stories from ordinary people: how they feel about this election, which (if either) leader they think will be the best for France, and how they believe the victory of one or the other might affect them, their families and their communities.
During a similar trip last month, to Greece looking for stories of hardship and self-help, hundreds of people got in touch, and dozens of illuminating, touching and – importantly – otherwise unknown stories got told.
I hope this one will work the same way. For it to do that, though, it will need your help.
If you have ideas for interesting places I should go, or people I should meet or talk to, please suggest them. I will be in Marseille on Monday morning, and in Paris on Sunday night, but otherwise my route is not fixed.
Or if you have a personal story to tell, please send it to me (not too long, please … ) and I will post as much of it as I can here on our French election blog.
As before, I'll also be tweeting pictures and interviews along the way using the hashtag #France2012tales, and posting Facebook updates at facebook.com/jon.henley100. You can reach me through Facebook, on Twitter at @jonhenley, or by email at jon.henley@guardian.co.uk.
Vous pouvez évidemment me contacter en français; ancien correspondant de mon journal en France, je parle la langue …
