Mélenchon wants to legalize more immigrants and leave NATO command

O party leader France Unsubmissive (LFI, far-left), Jean-Luc Mélenchon, today published a new version of the program of his presidential candidacy, proposing to increase the legalization of foreigners and leave NATO command.

Mélenchon — who, according to the polls, will have Marine Le Pen, from the opposite end of the political spectrum, as the main opponent in the race to the Elisha Palace — proposes 1,069 measures if elected President, including the convening of a Constituent Assembly to establish a VI Republic, with the greatest weight of Parliament and the “direct democracy”.

“It is a whole new France that this program proposes to found,” writes Mélenchon in the introduction of the program “The Common Future”, launched with an initial circulation of 130 thousand copies, at the price of 4.90 euros.

In the migratory context, the leader of the French extreme left is committed to extending the regularisation of illegal foreigners; in the area of security, he is proposing a thorough reform of the police, covering both its organisation and its operation.

The programme also targets EUR 1 billion to combat ‘Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and all forms of racism’.

In foreign policy, Mélenchon defends an independent and non-aligned France, proposes to abandon NATO's integrated military command and strengthen the United Nations.

The presentation of the program coincides with the negotiations to articulate alliances to the left. Nine of the 17 members of the Communist and Overseas Group at the French National Assembly announced their support for Mélenchon on Thursday.

Mélenchon advocates a change in the economic model, which defines as a “new collectivism”.

At a time when the country is struggling with one of the largest budget deficits in the European Union and the increase in public debt, Mélenchon proposes raising the minimum wage to EUR 1,700 per month (currently around EUR 1,500), reducing working hours to 32 hours per week and restoring the tax on large fortunes.

The programme also provides for the application of the Zucman tax (a minimum tax of 2% per year on the wealth of the richest people — those whose fortune exceeds EUR 100 million) and the extension of taxation on incomes and large companies.

With regard to pensions, it maintains the objective of establishing the pension at the age of 60, after 40 years of contributions.

Of the 1,069 measures presented in the document, 238 are new to the previous programme taken to the last presidential elections, won by Centrist Emmanuel Macron. The official presentation will take place Saturday in Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris, at a rally led by Mélenchon.

The “new France” refers to the entire French population, regardless of its origin, and is linked to the social and ecological transformation of the country defended by the political leader.

According to the analysts, the main change in relation to the 2022 programme is that the ecological agenda takes first place, ahead of institutional reform and the proposal to establish a VI Republic.

LFI maintains its objective of progressively abandoning fossil fuels and nuclear energy, but postpones it to 2060 — rather than 2050, as was stated in its previous programme — the goal of achieving a system based entirely on renewable energy.

The measures also include the creation of 500,000 jobs in the agricultural sector, a moratorium on low-emission areas and the introduction of the crime of “climate crime” to punish carbon emissions from companies.

The programme also proposes to reduce the average consumption of animal protein by 50% and to establish “eco-regions” to organize ecological planning based on river basins.