Public support for France’s left-wing firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon has strengthened, consolidating his position as the main competition for the far-right Marine Le Pen in France’s presidential election.
Fresh polling data shows the two as clear front-runners to replace president Emmanuel Macron, with Le Pen on 34-36 per cent and Mélenchon on 18-19 per cent, substantially ahead of his nearest rival.
It means the French public is gearing up to have a two-way choice between Le Pen and Mélenchon in a vote on May 2nd. Under the French presidential system, the top two candidates face each other in a second round if none wins more than 50 per cent in a first ballot due on April 18th.
Mélenchon gathered 20,000 supporters at a rally this weekend to launch his election programme, which promises to boost wages, increase social housing and introduce retirement at 60, while establishing wealth and business taxes.
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“I have only one reasonable thing to propose to you. It is, in fact, quite moderate,” Mélenchon told the crowd in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget, a stronghold for his France Unbowed party. “Just one thing: we must change everything.”
The programme promises to freeze and regulate the prices of food, energy and fuel, while increasing the minimum wage and pay for public servants. It also promises to freeze rents and build more public housing, while banning evictions if tenants do not have an offer of public housing.
A pension reform that raised France’s retirement age from 62 to 64 would be rolled back, while retirement at age 60 would be introduced for those with 40 years of contributions.
The programme promises to examine the nationalisation of airports, motorways and the lottery, and to strengthen the state’s ability to requisition factories and businesses deemed to be of public interest. The government would introduce strong protections for the environment, while phasing out nuclear power in favour of renewables.
Money would be raised through a variety of taxes, including an annual wealth tax of 2 per cent on those who have a net worth of €100 million or more, and a tax on financial transactions.
Inheritances would be taxed at 100 per cent above €12 million, creating a maximum inheritance cap, while inheritances of €150,000 and under would be tax-free.
All healthcare costs should be covered, including parking at the hospital.
Unemployed people would be guaranteed a job offer that pays minimum wage. A 32-hour week would be introduced for those working arduous jobs or night shifts, and the government would “promote its widespread adoption through collective bargaining”.
When it comes to foreign policy, France would “defy” or suspend European treaties while seeking to renegotiate them, including on spending rules, competition and free trade agreements. France would leave the EU energy market.
Mélenchon has long called for France to gradually withdraw from Nato, starting with its integrated command structure – something Le Pen also called for earlier this year.
In his rally, Mélenchon told the crowd that residents of areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia should be asked which country they wanted to belong to as part of a peace settlement.
“We have no business being in Nato, nor in American wars,” Mélenchon told the rally. “France must build a global front of non-aligned countries.”
The programme has raised eyebrows among economists as its spending pledges come with France already under significant pressure on bond markets due to concerns over its borrowing.
It brings together policy proposals from his France Unbowed party and from his three previous presidential bids.
Mélenchon (75) has brushed off polling that suggests Le Pen would win by a landslide if he faced her in a run-off, pointing to the recent comeback victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a second-round vote in Brazil.
