Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the French hard-left firebrand, has announced he will run in next year’s presidential election.

The MEP and former Socialist minister took 11.1% of the vote in the first round of the last presidential election in 2012 with the backing of the Communist party. He finished fourth, grabbing headlines along the way as he cemented his reputation as the tub-thumping philosopher-leader of the radical left.

The Left Front union parties which backed him have performed disappointingly in local elections in the four years since.

Crucially, his decision to run again next year was not taken with the backing of the Communists, and uncertainty remains about how he is to fund and organise his campaign.

In a video statement on his website Mélenchon said: “This election can be a chance for the people. It is the opportunity to turn the page peacefully and democratically on an unfair and cruel system our country and continent are sinking into.”

Polls for the 2017 race are still tentative because it is not clear yet who will run. But one poll this week showed 10% of leftwing voters consider Mélenchon the best candidate for the left, only three percentage points behind the incumbent, François Hollande.

Mélenchon’s long-expected announcement confirms his opposition to a broad primary race to find a presidential candidate on the left.



A group of intellectuals, politicians and economists ranging from Greens to social democrats last month publicly appealed for a “primary of the left”. There have been fears that Hollande is losing support and that the left could be wiped out if a rightwing candidate faces the far-right Front National’s Marine Le Pen in the second round.

Hollande is expected to reshuffle the government later on Thursday, in part to align his government closer to the left of his Socialist party and to quell internal party differences in the run-up to the 2017 presidential race.