Reported by Al Jazeera
The hard-left leader has transformed into a real contender in next year presidential elections.
Hard-left French leader Jean-Luc Melenchon has been described as a “radical” by right-wing opponents, a “despot” by former allies and a “hero” by some of the students who have taken to the streets in nationwide protests .
The leader of the France Unbowed (LFI) party has emerged as the strongest contender on the left and potential challenger to far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen in next year’s presidential election.
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On Saturday, Melenchon is presenting his programme at a rally in Le Bourget, north of Paris, a day after it was published online.
Among his proposals, he wants to lower the retirement age to 60 and raise the minimum wage to 1,700 euro ($1,900) a month; pull France out of NATO and renationalise parts of the economy.
He wants the European Central Bank to stop France repaying the debt it holds, effectively transforming the debt instead to a permanent interest-free loan – a move he hopes would give the government more room to spend.
On Europe, he envisions France remaining in the EU, but he wants to refuse rules that conflict with the nation’s social, environmental or economic programmes, setting up a potentially confrontational relationship with Brussels.
His party is gaining momentum as protests led by students in mid-September swelled to include several groups angry about failing public services, rising living costs and uncertain futures.
The hard-left leader has been hailed at marches, some of which have seen vandalism and looting.
“His strength is that he is in tune with the demands of the demonstrations: better wages, money in education, a lot of welfare measures, no austerity cuts which appease people who are fed up with the cost of living,” said Jacques Reland, a senior research fellow at the Global Policy Institute. “He is the vote of the protesters.”
France’s finances and borrowing are under scrutiny as its budget deficit and debt levels are high, raising further doubts on how Melenchon’s ambitious spending plans, particularly on social programmes and public investment, could be implemented.
Some economists…