World
‘Radical’ or ‘hero’?: France debates leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France Unbowed (LFI), has emerged as the strongest contender on the French left ahead of next year's presidential election, presenting his programme at a rally in Le Bourget after publishing it online. His proposals include lowering the retirement age to 60, raising the minimum wage to 1,700 euros a month, pulling France out of NATO and renationalising parts of the economy, while critics on the right and among former allies call him radical and authoritarian. Polls put him at 17.5–18 percent, well behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who would beat him 70–30 in a run-off according to an October survey.