In the space of a decade, Jean-Luc Mélenchon bounced back from a lifetime on the fringes of the Socialist Party to become the dominant force in France’s post-Socialist left. As voters head to the polls on Sunday, he is hoping to prevent a repeat of President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 duel with the far right’s Marine Le Pen.
By most accounts, France’s presidential campaign ranks among the most disappointing in recent decades, overshadowed by the horror of the war in Ukraine, hampered by a largely absent incumbent, and tarnished by ramblings far removed from the real concerns of the public.
