Jean-Luc Mélenchon
French left-wing populist politician (born 1951) · France · Politicians
Read more often than usual, most of all on 11 October.
3.4 times the usual readers on 11 October. 22,501 readers on 11 October, against about 6,657 a day before the rise.
He's run for president three times, climbing each time - 11%, then 19%, then just shy of 22% and a runoff spot - and still never broken through.
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About this person
Born 19 August 1951, Mélenchon started in a Trotskyist group before joining the Socialist Party in 1976, working his way from municipal councillor to the Senate (1986, reelected twice) to a ministerial post under Lionel Jospin. He broke with the Socialists in 2008, founded the Left Party, and ran for president in 2012 under the Left Front banner, taking fourth with 11.1%. In 2016 he launched La France Insoumise, a vehicle built around his candidacy, and improved to 19.6% in 2017, then 21.95% in 2022 - close enough to taste the second round. After that near-miss he assembled NUPES for the 2022 legislative election, then the New Popular Front in 2024, both times delivering the left its best parliamentary showing in years. Observers credit his rhetorical force and tactical acumen, but also note a habit of provocation that makes him as many enemies as disciples.
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