“My government will repair everything that can be repaired for the victims of authoritarianism,” Mr Mélenchon said.
“It will give amnesty to all the convicted Yellow Vests, it will guarantee and ensure the reclassification and compensation of the victims of amputation and blinding whose lives were shattered by police violence.”
“French democracy has been severely downgraded,” he told the crowd, promising he would restore the retirement age to 60 years old, raise the minimum wage to 1,400 euros a month, and put a temporary cap on gasoline prices at 1.4 euros a litre.
Above all, Mr Mélenchon appealed to the crowd, by telling them they had a “moral responsibility” when it came to their vote at the ballot box.
With the first round of France’s presidential elections just three weeks away, many on the Left are hoping Mélenchon’s boost in the polls could create an upset that would send the “France Insoumise” (France Unbowed) leader to the second-round run-off against the favourite President Emmanuel Macron.
“He’s the only candidate who even tries to make people dream,” said Agathe Bréjan, a 27-year-old French teacher.
Mélenchon creeping up in polls
An Ipsos poll released Sunday found that while Mr Macron still holds a comfortable lead with 30.5 per cent in the first round, Mr Mélenchon is creeping his way toward a potential upset that could see him take second place in the first round.
Mr Melechon is now slated to take 13 per cent of the vote in the first round of the upcoming April elections, just several points behind Marine Le Pen, the far-Right National Rally leader, who is polling at 16.5 per cent.
But Mr Mélenchon’s path to the Elysée palace remains a considerable longshot, not least because of his longtime ambiguity towards Russia and its President, Vladimir Putin.
His rivals on the Left have accused the longtime Nato-sceptic of being an “accomplice” in the face of “dictators”, calling out statements made before the war in which he said that French politicians “have a duty to ensure that Ukraine does not enter Nato in the East.”
