Hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has called on his supporters to gather in Le Bourget, just north of Paris, this Saturday to officially present his party's new manifesto, titled "L'Avenir en commun" (The Future in Common). This event follows a series of campaign launches, beginning in June with a rally attended by 26,000 people outside the Basilica of Saint-Denis, followed by a second major gathering in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne region. The Clermont-Ferrand event coincided with the onset of the high-school students' movement in France and featured a symbolic visit to the Gergovie plateau, the site where the Gauls famously defeated Julius Caesar's Roman army.
The choice of Le Bourget holds historical political resonance, as it was the site where François Hollande delivered his famous 2012 declaration, "My real opponent is the world of finance." That statement was intended to establish his left-wing credentials before he went on, once elected, to pursue supply-side economic policies—a first for a French Socialist leader. Nearly fifteen years later, Mélenchon is attempting to position himself as a candidate representing a decisive break with the left, operating against a backdrop of spreading social unrest across the country.
Currently polling in second place at around 18%, the France Unbowed (LFI) leader has recently gained support from most Communist and overseas-territories MPs in the National Assembly, despite the concurrent candidacy of French Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel. The Greens are expected to decide on a potential alliance with LFI in mid-December, though Mélenchon still trails significantly behind Marine Le Pen, who is polling between 35% and 37%.
Ahead of his rally, Mélenchon unveiled a campaign poster depicting his portrait against the Gergovie landscape, a backdrop that also evokes a rural France where the LFI vote remains weak, accompanied by a reworked republican motto: "liberty, equality, solidarity." On social media, some internet users have already compared the aesthetic to François Mitterrand's 1981 poster, which showed him in front of a Burgundy village dominated by its church, above the slogan "quiet strength."
While previous iterations of his platform prioritized the creation of a Sixth Republic, the current manifesto shifts focus toward ecological transformation. Proposed measures include replacing existing administrative regions with "eco-regions" organized around the management of water resources and enshrining stronger environmental protections in the constitution. The party remains committed to a gradual nuclear power phase-out, though the target for 100% renewable energy has been moved from 2050 to 2060.
On social and economic issues, the manifesto maintains long-standing pledges to raise the monthly minimum wage (SMIC) to €1,700 and to lower the legal retirement age to 60 for those who have contributed for 40 years. While the programme was published without a full financial breakdown, party officials stress that it is a "foundation" to be supplemented by approximately 50 detailed documents. In mid-October, Mélenchon and Éric Coquerel, head of the National Assembly's finance committee, presented a "revised budget" for 2027 that projected €100 billion in additional tax revenue against €80 billion in new spending.
Foreign policy remains a central pillar for LFI, with a focus on the war in Gaza and Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank, alongside a proposal to suspend the association agreement between Israel and the European Union. Regarding Ukraine, the document calls for a ceasefire but says little about military support for Kyiv, instead advocating for a new European security framework that would include Russia.
The manifesto has drawn sharp criticism from political opponents. Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Rally presidential candidate, described the platform as a "plan to dismantle France," adding that it takes the process of deconstruction initiated by Emmanuel Macron to its logical conclusion. Speaking near Marseille on Saturday, former prime minister Édouard Philippe, who is also running in the presidential election, criticized what he called a "communitarian vision" and an "administered economy." Philippe also noted perceived similarities between Le Pen and Mélenchon, specifically their shared "hatred of European integration" and desire to "leave NATO."
The rally occurs as demonstrations persist nationwide. On Thursday, nearly 200 marches took place across France to demand higher wages, improved public services, and increased resources for schools and universities. Organisers estimated a turnout of 1.6 million people, while the interior ministry reported 575,000 demonstrators.
