The key facts

  • The manifesto was published on 6 November, one day before a rally near Paris
  • According to an IFOP poll for LCI (27–29 October), Mélenchon ranks second with 17.6%, while Le Pen has 36%
  • The proposal to freeze part of the debt owed to the Bank of France is criticised by Bank of France Governor Moulin and ECB President Lagarde as a violation of Article 123 of the EU treaties

The Manifesto and the Rally

French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon on 6 November published the manifesto book «L’Avenir en commun» («A Shared Future»), one day before a major pre-election rally of his party La France Insoumise near Paris. According to an IFOP poll for the LCI television channel, conducted from 27 to 29 October, Mélenchon ranks second with 17.6% of voting intentions, behind National Rally candidate Marine Le Pen, who has 36%.

The European Union and Foreign Policy

On European matters, the manifesto supports rejecting rules and norms that do not serve French interests, including provisions of the EU migration pact and European defence. The party also calls for reducing France’s net contribution to the EU budget by roughly €9 billion — in October this proposal was reiterated by the party’s finance spokesperson Éric Coquerel. The outlet notes that such Euroscepticism has parallels with the position of the National Rally, which promises to scrap a number of pan-European rules in business, agriculture, energy and the environment, although the ideological underpinnings of the two parties differ. Foreign policy in the manifesto is built on military independence and non-alignment: a gradual withdrawal from NATO and, on Ukraine, a «diplomatic framework» that would make it possible to achieve a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops. The war in Ukraine receives less attention than France’s relations with Israel: the manifesto accuses the government of having allowed the «commission of genocide» in Gaza and condemns «diplomatic double standards».

Domestic Policy and the Budget

In domestic policy, the party proposes retirement at 60, an increase in the minimum wage, a law against concentrated media ownership, and an expansion of public services. Taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, together with the abolition of a number of tax breaks, would, according to the party’s draft budget for 2027, yield about €106.4 billion in additional annual revenue: €81.7 billion would go to additional spending, with the rest used to reduce the deficit. This comes against the backdrop of one of the highest levels of public debt in the eurozone, which is causing concern among financial markets and drawing the EU’s attention.

The Controversial Debt Proposal

In recent months, a separate source of controversy has been Mélenchon’s proposal to freeze or effectively cancel part of France’s public debt held by the Bank of France within the Eurosystem under the aegis of the ECB. Such a move would require a coordinated step at EU level. Both Bank of France Governor Émmanuel Moulin and ECB President Christine Lagarde have stated that this measure would violate EU treaties, in particular Article 123, which prohibits monetary financing of governments.