Veteran leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon lost out on a place in France’s presidential election run-off, but his 7,714,574 votes have made him the strongest force on the Left. Where those votes go will likely determine whether incumbent Emmanuel Macron or Marine Le Pen becomes president.
In his third shot at the French presidency, 70-year-old Mélenchon got his highest score ever in Sunday’s first round, winning 21.95 percent of the vote, just 1.15 points behind hard right candidate Le Pen.
