Mélenchon Announces 2027 French Presidential Bid

PARIS (Substrate) — Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leading politician in France’s left-wing Unbowed party, announced on May 3, 2026, that he will run in the 2027 French presidential election. " This marks his fourth bid for the presidency. Mélenchon ran for the French presidency in 2012, receiving 11 percent of the vote.

He campaigned again in 2017 and in 2022, when he came third behind Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron. 2 percentage points behind Le Pen. France’s Unbowed party, known by its French acronym LFI, positions Mélenchon as its standard-bearer.

Mélenchon founded the movement a decade ago and has grown his vote share with each campaign. The announcement comes as Emmanuel Macron, the French President, faces term limits that bar him from running in 2027.

Macron formed his Renaissance political party in 2016. His public support has declined amid economic and government crises in recent years. Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader who edged Mélenchon in 2022, is facing a ban from politics, which she is challenging in court.

The 2027 election is scheduled for April, with a potential run-off two weeks later if no candidate secures a majority in the first round. No political party won a majority in the 2024 French political elections, leading to instability. France has had several governments and prime ministers over the past two years as a result.

This vulnerability to no-confidence votes has persisted if opposition parties unite against the government. Mélenchon's LFI has been a vocal presence in French politics, championing strong environmental regulations and higher taxes on the rich. The party has criticized Israel over its war on Gaza, with Mélenchon describing the assault as genocide and calling for suspension of the European Union’s association agreement with Israel.

-Israel war on Iran.