Five days before the French presidential election's first round, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon is multiplying his efforts – and, in a sense, himself – in a spectacular bid to rally hesitant lefists onside with one final high-tech rally before Sunday's crucial vote. Mélenchon will take the stage on Tuesday night in Lille – while across the country the 70-year-old's hologram addresses crowds in 11 other cities.
Mélenchon, running third in polls ahead of Sunday's first round, has built momentum down the stretch, leaving a peloton of leftist rivals decisively in the distance on voter surveys in recent weeks. Pollsters have him within shouting distance (albeit quite a loud shout) of the frontrunners, incumbent French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right 2017 finalist Marine Le Pen, hoping to advance to the April 24 run-off.
