Overview
- Jean‑Luc Mélenchon, who declared his candidacy Sunday on TF1, moved forward hours after France Unbowed (LFI) lawmakers meeting in Paris endorsed him as their 2027 standard‑bearer.
- As in 2022, he conditioned his bid on collecting 150,000 citizen sponsorships, a signature drive his camp treats as a formality given how quickly he gathered them last time.
- He cast the far‑right National Rally as his main foe and said he believes he can beat it decisively, arguing that global crises demand an experienced left candidate.
- The announcement reopened left‑wing tensions, with figures like Raquel Garrido and Alexis Corbière warning it stifles renewal as LFI loyalists tout him as their most effective mobilizer.
- Recent polling places him around 10% to 13% with high unfavorability, a sharp contrast to his 22% first‑round score in 2022 when he missed the runoff by roughly 420,000 votes.