French presidential hopeful Melenchon pledges minimum wage rise, retirement at 60


Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of French far-left opposition party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed - LFI) and candidate for the 2027 French presidential election, attends a demonstration in Paris as part of a nationwide day of strikes and protests over wages, the cost of living and public services called by French labour unions, and joined by high school and university students demanding better school conditions, in France, November 5, 2026. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor

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PARIS, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Jean-Luc Melenchon, the hard-left French ⁠presidential hopeful, will pledge to raisethe minimum wage and restore the country's ‌retirement age to 60 when he launches his 2027 election programme on Saturday.

Melenchon, 75, is viewed as the strongest contender on the left and recent opinion polls have shown himreaching the presidential runoff next April ​against Marine Le Pen on the far-right, but ⁠also indicatehe would lose in the ⁠second round.

His manifesto, titled "L'Avenir en commun" ("A Shared Future"), is the fifth edition of the platform ⁠of ‌his party, France Unbowed (LFI), and largely reaffirms policies that have formed the backbone of Melenchon's previous presidential bids.

Among its flagship pledges is the repeal of ⁠President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, which gradually raised France's minimum ​retirement age from 62 ‌to 64 in an effort to shore up public finances.

LFI says it ⁠would restore retirement ​at 60 for people who have contributed to the system for 40 years.

The programme also calls for increasing the net monthly minimum wage to €1,700 from around €1,480 and includes plans to abolish the ⁠flat tax on capital income, raise taxes on ​the wealthiest households and cap prices for essential foods.

LFIalso reiterates its support for a gradual phase-out of nuclear power infavour of a fully renewable electricity system, including scrapping the planned ⁠EPR2 reactor programme and not extending the lifespan of nuclear plants beyond 60 years.

On foreign policy, Melenchon's programme reiterates his long-standing criticism of NATO and calls for France's gradual withdrawal from the alliance, starting with an exit from its integrated military command.

It also ​criticises German influence on European Union economic policy, describing Berlin ⁠as Europe's chief defender of "ordoliberalism", an economic philosophy centred on strict budget rules, price stability ​and independent monetary policy.

The programme calls for greater ‌protection of domestic industry, including measures to encourage ​the relocation of production to France, and advocates a more interventionist role for the state in the economy.

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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