On April 23, 2017, Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the newly established, far-left La France insoumise (France Unbowed) party garnered 19.58 percent of the total vote in the first round of the French elections. Mélenchon nearly overcame Francois Fillion, the scandal-ridden candidate for one of France’s largest and oldest parties, the center-right Republicans, and decisively beat Benoit Hamon (6.36 percent) of the equally powerful center-left Socialist party. Although Mélenchon lost, neither of the two second-round presidential candidates are from established parties either; Marine Le Pen is the head of the fringe far-right National Front, while Emmanuel Macron’s centrist En Marche party was founded only last year. The support for Mélenchon should thus be seen as part of a larger anti-establishment trend that has emerged in France.
Mélenchon was a member of the center-left French Socialist party for 30 years, and left to start his own party after the Socialists were defeated in the 2007 election. Like Le Pen, he supports exiting the E.U and has refrained from criticizing Putin for his role in instigating conflict in Ukraine, but has rejected Le Pen’s anti-refugee policies. Mélenchon is instead mainly concerned about the economic failure of E.U. austerity measures that increase inequality—he supports far-left policies like implementing a 100% tax on earnings over £300,000, and using newly acquired funds on housing and sustainable energy projects. His policies have become particularly popular because of the high levels of unemployment in France, concerns about increasing income inequality, and increasing skepticism about the benefits of free trade.
Through a masterful use of technology and social media, Mélenchon has been able to appeal to voters in unconventional ways. He currently has over 307,000 subscribers on YouTube, more than any other candidate, and has reached voters through videos and blog posts instead of conventional news outlets during his campaign. Mélenchon was also featured in an online game called Fiscal Combat, and commonly gave rallies as a holographic projection.
Mélenchon’s use of technology aided the projection of his naturally conversational and engaging speaking style. After the April 4 French presidential debates, 25 percent of surveyed viewers thought he was the most convincing candidate, while Macron took second place with 21 percent. Polls placed Mélenchon in fifth place with only 12 percent of the vote in early March, but after a strong campaign and debate performance, he rose to third place with a projected 19 percent of the total vote in April.
Though he strongly opposes Le Pen’s policies, Mélenchon will not endorse Macron—a pro-free trade candidate that Mélenchon claimed “ruined the lives of thousands of people” with policies imposed in his previous role as France’s economic minister. This is particularly unusual given that French parties opposing the far right have historically united as a “Republican Front” to block fringe parties from gaining power. For example, in 2002 multiple parties supported conservative candidate Jacques Chirac against Marine Le Pen’s father, far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Le Pen has already attempted to use the similarities between her policies and Mélenchon’s to appeal to his voter base, asking them to block Macron because “his platform is at the opposite of what [Mélenchon’s] party proposed”. However, an OpinionWay survey on April 28th showed that the overall number of Mélenchon voters planning to reallocate their vote has decreased: support for Macron dropped from 55 to 40 percent, while the percentage of expected voters for Le Pen fell from 22 to 15 percent. Only 77 percent of voters participated in the first round election, and second round turnout is forecasted to be lower because, like with Mélenchon’s supporters, many citizens have indicated that they might abstain.
As a result, even marginal increases in the number of voters could affect second round results, and Mélenchon’s refusal to endorse either candidate may backfire, giving Le Pen the power to pull from his substantial voter base before the presidential run-off. French voters have shown unprecedented levels of support for previously “fringe” parties with far left and far right policies, turning away from the centre-left Socialists and centre-right Republicans. Anti-establishment sentiment has had a tremendous influence on the recent election, and is likely to remain regardless of who wins the May 7th election.