Mélenchon's 1,000 Point Plan Targets French Constitution and NATO
The 75 year old left wing candidate seeks a second round duel with Marine Le Pen, proposing to lower voting age to 16 and replace the current government structure.
By Adrian Kovalenko ·
Jean Luc Mélenchon, 75, addressed 20,000 supporters in Le Bourget, north of Paris, on Saturday, stating that he has only one sensible proposal: everything must change. His campaign for the 2027 presidential election centers on a platform of more than 1,000 points, which includes reducing the voting age to 16 and restoring the retirement age to 60.
The left wing senator is in his fourth presidential bid. In 2022, he received 421,308 votes in the first round, missing the second round by a narrow margin. He now aims to face the far right favorite, Marine Le Pen, in a decisive match on May 2, 2027. His platform also includes higher taxes for the wealthy and a moratorium on artificial intelligence.
Mélenchon was born in Tangier, Morocco, in 1951. He served as a senator and secretary of state before leaving in 2008 to build his own political movement. He describes his rallies as the Melenshow, staging them as acts of governance in waiting. He recently criticized former socialist president François Hollande, noting that Hollande’s campaign only filled one third of similar venues.
Critics, including a far right mayor, have labeled him the Donald Trump of the left, citing his claims about crowd sizes and his confrontation with police. In 2018, he was convicted after shouting I am the Republic at officers during a search of his party offices. A 2025 investigation book described him as a leader who demands blind devotion and treats skeptics as traitors.
His campaign relies heavily on young voters and the suburbs of Seine Saint Denis, the poorest department in metropolitan France. He embraced the student protests that began in September over school conditions and teacher shortages. The police have made thousands of arrests in connection with these demonstrations. Mélenchon warned the government not to touch the young people.
The political landscape has shifted dramatically. Socialists and conservative Republicans, who alternated in power for decades, combined for only 6.5 percent of the presidential vote in the 2022 first round. A potential second round between Le Pen and Mélenchon would leave both traditional parties on the sidelines. Center right former prime minister Édouard Philippe is also running, hoping to prevent a runoff between the extremes.
Mélenchon’s core proposal is to replace the Fifth Republic, founded by Charles de Gaulle in 1958, with a new constitution. He plans for a special assembly of citizens, excluding current legislators, to draft the new rules. French citizens could gather signatures to force votes that repeal laws or remove a sitting president. His detractors argue his plans for debt and leaving NATO could unsettle markets and the European Central Bank.
At the rally, supporters wore shirts with his name and the number 27 on the back. The venue observed a moment of silence for Pengo Bossio Wangi, a 26 year old man killed in a shooting last month. Mélenchon ended the event by quoting The Internationale, referencing a 2017 comment by President Emmanuel Macron that described people as being nothing. He told the crowd that they should be everything.
