'We must change everything,' French far-left presidential candidate Mélenchon says
· France 24Hard-left French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon pledged to raise the minimum wage and restore the country's retirement age to 60 in a speech launching his 2027 election programme on Saturday.
Mélenchon, 75, is viewed as the strongest contender on the left and recent opinion polls have shown him reaching the presidential runoff next April against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen – but also indicate he would lose in the second round.
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Addressing some 20,000 supporters at a mass rally in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget, Mélenchon nevertheless made it clear he was targeting the Élysée Palace to succeed President Emmanuel Macron.
"I have only one reasonable thing to propose to you. It is, in fact, quite moderate. Just one thing: we must change everything," he said.
"We are paving the way for a major political shift in France," added Mélenchon.
Taking aim at the centre-right Macron, he referred to recent demonstrations and rioting in France over the past months.
"We are living through a strange moment. It is the death throes of the Macron era marked by savagery, police brutality, and the unpredictable, violent outbursts at the end of demonstrations," he said.
He accused Macron of presiding over a "dark end to his reign" and said that the far right under Le Pen had "no idea other than racism".
His manifesto, titled "L'Avenir en commun" ("A Shared Future"), is the fifth edition of the platform of his party, France Unbowed (LFI), and largely reaffirms policies that have formed the backbone of Mélenchon's previous presidential bids.
Read moreFrench presidential election: How far-left Mélenchon became a Gen Z favourite
Among its flagship pledges is the repeal of President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, which gradually raised France's minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 in an effort to shore up public finances.
LFI says it would restore retirement at 60 for people who have contributed to the system for 40 years.
The programme also calls for increasing the net monthly minimum wage to €1,700 from around €1,480 and includes plans to abolish the flat tax on capital income, raise taxes on the wealthiest households and cap prices for essential foods.
Read moreFrench candidates race to claim the cost-of-living issue ahead of 2027 vote
LFI also reiterates its support for a gradual phase-out of nuclear power in favour of a fully renewable electricity system, including scrapping the planned EPR2 reactor programme and not extending the lifespan of nuclear plants beyond 60 years.
On foreign policy, Mélenchon's programme reiterates his long-standing criticism of NATO and calls for France's gradual withdrawal from the military alliance, starting with an exit from its integrated military command.
France previously withdrew from NATO's integrated military command in 1966 under president Charles de Gaulle, a decision later reversed under right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009.
LFI's programme also criticises German influence on European Union economic policy, describing Berlin as Europe's chief defender of "ordoliberalism", an economic philosophy centred on strict budget rules, price stability and independent monetary policy.
The programme calls for greater protection of domestic industry, including measures to encourage the relocation of production to France, and advocates a more interventionist role for the state in the economy.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)