A leftist is preferred by the Maghreb communities Who is the French candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon?

Jean-Luc Melenchon remains the favorite of the French left's candidates for a seat in the second round of the presidential elections on Sunday, and the closest to curbing the tide of the far-right. He is considered one of the biggest advocates for the rights of the Muslim minority in the country, and the preferred presidential candidate for the Maghreb communities.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the far-left presidential candidate and leader of the "France Proud" movement, occupies third place, according to the latest sounding of the opinions of voters in the French presidential elections scheduled for Sunday, April 10. Thus, it became an opportunity for him to win a seat in her next role.

Melenchon can achieve a surprise after the rising trend in his popularity, and the increase in popular mobilization to curb the rise of the extreme right. In this context, the leftist candidate is considered the biggest defender of the rights and freedoms of the country's Muslim minority in the face of fierce racist attacks against it, and has great support from the Maghreb communities in France.

Meleunchon surprise?

It is the third time that Melenchon has run for the presidential election in France, after two previous attempts, in which he was eliminated in the first round. Meanwhile, he relies on the upward trend in his popularity since the beginning of last March, as he moved according to opinion polls from fourth to third place with 15.5% of support, i.e. an advance of five points in less than a month.

Melenchon's interim electoral mission is to correct the difference that separates him from the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who comes in second place, according to polls, behind Emmanuel Macron, the leader. The two sides, Macron and Le Pen, face a confrontation in the second round, in which the current president once again plays the blocking card against the rise of the extreme right.

The rising trend in the popularity of Melenchon began after holding a series of mass meetings, the most prominent of which was in one of the workers' neighborhoods in Lyon, which was in the Republic Square in the heart of the capital. While Melenchon's success in his goal depends on the gathering of left-wing voters to give him their votes, after the Socialist Party, the traditional representative of the center-left, lost the compass, and the Green Party struggled to mobilize a broad base of support. Opinion polls paint a wide chasm between Melenchon and his left-wing counterparts.

The left-wing candidate and former French Minister of Justice, Christiane Taubira, announced her support for the vote for Melenchon, and called on all the left sects to do so because it is a "useful vote", as she described it.

He defends Muslims and is preferred by the Maghreb

Jean-Luc Melenchon represented one of the strong opposition voices against Macron's policies targeting Muslims, and was present more than once during demonstrations against Islamophobia and racism. Voting on it is also a strong option to curb these fierce attacks against Muslims and stop the rise of the extreme right.

In his platform, Melenchon pledges to rescind any amendments to the French laïcité law of 1905, as well as to repeal the Macron government's "Islamic isolationism" law that includes direct persecution of Muslims and a codified form of Islamophobia.

Melenchon enjoys great support from the Maghreb community in France, where an opinion poll showed that 38% of them intend to give him their vote, compared to 25% for the outgoing president.

The far-left candidate's program includes a plan for the popular neighborhoods and suburbs inhabited by a large segment of the Maghreb and African communities. Melenchon pledged to combat police violence targeting these neighbourhoods, as well as economic violence and discrimination in social services, and to reform infrastructure in order to achieve a "republic of equality".