“The city of Lyon, in southeast France, has been the staging ground for some of the most important rallies in the 2017 presidential race.

It was there that far-right candidate Marine Le Pen formally launched her election campaign, while her greatest rival, centrist Emmanuel Macron, held a competing rally in a different part of town. And anti-capitalist Jean-Luc Melenchon chose the city to perform a first-of-its-kind hologram broadcast, beaming himself to another rally in Paris.

But in a subterranean theatre in the city’s oldest district, an iconic character is also taking the stage, preparing to launch barbs at what he sees as the candidates’ blockheaded antics. And he should know. After all, he’s a blockhead himself.”

Read more about how the hand-puppet Guignol has shaped France’s modern-day political discourse here, in this feature for Al Jazeera English.