France's left: Mélenchon wants to “change everything”

His program has a good 200 pages. But Jean-Luc Mélenchon sums it up briefly: “You have to change everything,” was the radical message that the 75-year-old announced to his cheering supporters on Saturday afternoon. For almost an hour and a half, a dozen politicians from the left-wing party La France insoumise (LFI) heated up the mood in the exhibition hall at Le Bourget near Paris. “Mélenchon président,” the crowd shouted as the LFI presidential candidate appeared.

The former socialist was visibly pleased with the reception. “You haven’t experienced something like this for a long time,” he commented to journalists. Young people in particular came. According to surveys, more than 40 percent of 18 to 25 year olds want to vote for him.

Right at the beginning of his hour-long speech, Mélenchon observed a minute's silence for Pengo Bossio Wangi. The 26-year-old was shot at the end of October for racist motives by a man from whom the police found propaganda from the right-wing populist Rassemblement National (RN) and a copy of Hitler's “Mein Kampf”. “We will fight racism very strictly,” announced Mélenchon, earning frenetic applause from the almost 20,000 listeners. Many of them came from the surrounding banlieues.

France is going through the agony of Emmanuel Macron's presidency, which is associated with uninhibited police power, he analyzed. “Ten years of Macronism have damaged our country.” He himself wants to put an end to the Fifth Republic, which was founded by President Charles de Gaulle in 1958. His Sixth Republic should be that of the sovereignty of the people.

The audience always responded to Macron's name with boos. The reaction was even more violent when Mélenchon mentioned the RN. Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and party leader Jordan Bardella have no ideas for France other than their racism. Mélenchon also criticized the RN for not representing the social rights of his compatriots.

He, on the other hand, wants to be the candidate of social justice. If he is elected, prices should be frozen and a minimum wage of 1,700 euros net should be introduced. It is currently 1478 euros. However, the program does not specify how LFI plans to finance this. The figures will not be submitted until next year.

“Méluche”, as he is called by his supporters, discussed foreign policy in detail. After just three minutes he announced his solidarity with the Palestinian people. “You have to call a genocide a genocide,” he demanded. He also renewed his announcement that he would leave NATO if elected. “We have no place in NATO or in the American wars.”

“The Palestinian cause is extremely important,” Juliette, who like many others wore a Palestinian scarf around her neck, said after Mélenchon’s speech. But she is not just concerned with Palestine, but with all oppressed peoples – “from Sudan to the Congo”. The 28-year-old came with her mother Natalie, who has previously voted socialist. But for a few months now she has been like her daughter “Mélenchoniste,” reported the 62-year-old.

The police violence against demonstrators, who have been protesting for weeks against the high cost of living, and the impoverishment of the people convinced her, says Natalie. She herself is a manager and earns enough. But low-income earners suffered. “LFI is the only party that is proposing measures here.”

Mélenchon is at 18 percent in polls for the spring presidential election. This would mean he would qualify for the runoff election for the first time in his fourth candidacy. The fact that he is predicted to suffer a crushing defeat against Le Pen there does not impress his supporters. “Anything is possible,” said one as he left the exhibition hall in Le Bourget.

Tens of thousands of people protested again for the fourth weekend in a row. However, participation was weaker than before. While the organizers said on Saturday evening that there were 250,000 demonstrators nationwide, according to afp, “against the expensive life and for the youth,” the authorities estimate there were 146,000. Most of the protests were peaceful.