French election: tens of thousands march in Paris for leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Telegraph

French election: tens of thousands march in Paris for leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon
6:00PM GMT 18 Mar 2012

Mr Melenchon of the Left Front, who represents a coalition of leftist parties including the Communists, has emerged as a significant factor in the campaign just as Socialist front-runner Francois Hollande faces a resurgent threat from incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy.

His virulent attacks on the rich, France's elite and austerity measures have struck a chord with many voters and polls this week showed him surpassing the symbolic 10 per cent mark, up four points from the start of the year, with only five weeks to go before the April 22 first round of voting.

Organisers claimed more than 100,000 people took part in the rally, held on the anniversary of the Paris Commune uprising of 1871

Decrying a France "disfigured by inequality," Mr Melenchon called for a "civic insurrection" as he addressed a sea of supporters in Place de la Bastille.


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9151692/French-election-tens-of-thousands-march-in-Paris-for-leftist-candidate-Jean-Luc-Melenchon.html

[2ndAmForComputers]

1. Thankfully, they have a runoff system.

Therefore, more power to Monsieur Melenchon.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. Please, France, get rid of Sarkozy.

[Overseas]

3. K&R. Glad to hear it.

[valerief]

4. I wonder if when lefties march in France, it doesn't get reported in French news like when lefties

march in the US, it doesn't get reported in US news.

[JDPriestly]

6. See for yourself here:

Mélenchon : "Nous sommes le cri du peuple !"

http://www.lemonde.fr/

4:28 edition on 03/18/12

[freshwest]

5. It'll be interesting to see if the voting results reflect their call for change.

[pampango]

7. More from the Guardian: Far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon calls for a 'civic insurrection'

in France

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/18/jean-luc-melenchon-french-presidential-poll

He recently surged above the 10% mark in the polls, a sharp rise which has eaten into the score of the Socialist frontrunner François Hollande and delighted the rightwing president Nicolas Sarkozy, who is seeking to exploit differences on the left in his difficult battle for re-election. Mélenchon claims he is winning the ideological battle of the French presidential election, saying his anti-fat cat stance had been mimicked by both Hollande's proposed 75% tax on income over €1m (£830,000) and Sarkozy's promised crackdown on tax exiles.

Mélenchon is locked in a vicious battle with Le Pen for the protest and working class vote. A favourite on TV debate shows for his explosive performances, he directs his most virulent jibes at Le Pen, whom he has called "a bat", "half-demented" and a "dark presence". Last autumn he also accused Hollande of being a "pedal boat captain".

The French left still labours under the shadow of April 2002, when the Socialist candidate was knocked out of the election by the far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen after several leftist candidates fragmented the vote. Pollsters say an upset of that kind is unlikely this year.

The latest poll by Ifop for Le Journal du Dimanche put Sarkozy on 27.5%, Hollande on 27% and Le Pen on 17% in the first round. If the poll is correct, Hollande would beat Sarkozy in the second round by 54% to 46%.

Sarkozy seems to have made something of a comeback to pull into a statistical tie with Hollande in the polling for the first round of the presidential voting. Hope Sarkozy loses in the final round at any rate.

[Laughing Mirror]

8. Sarkozy will lose because only the diehards will vote for him

He knows it, they know it, everybody in France knows it. He's just going through the motions of a unpopular president nobody wants anymore.