French hard-left politician Melenchon to stand in 2027 presidential election

Melenchon ran for president in 2012, 2017 and 2022, coming third that year behind ⁠far-right leader Marine Le Pen and President Macron

Jean-Luc ⁠Melenchon, the leading figure in ⁠the hard-left France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) political party, will stand in next year’s presidential election, he said on Sunday.

“Yes, I am a candidate,” Melenchon told TF1 ‌TV.

Melenchon, 74, has been a fixture of the French left for decades, holding ministerial posts in past governments when he was a Socialist Party member.

He ran for president in 2012, 2017 and 2022, coming third that year behind ⁠far-right leader Marine Le Pen and President Emmanuel Macron.

“We have less ‌than a year to go until the second round of the election. With us, it is ‌all sorted out – there is a team, a manifesto, and ⁠a single ⁠candidate,” added Melenchon.

Under the French constitution, Macron cannot seek a third mandate as ‌president.