French presidential hopeful Melenchon pledges minimum wage rise, retirement at 60

Detailed summary

PARIS, Nov 7 - Jean-Luc Melenchon, the hard-left French presidential hopeful, will pledge to raise the minimum wage and restore the country's retirement age to 60 when he launches…

PARIS, Nov 7 - Jean-Luc Melenchon, the hard-left French presidential hopeful, will pledge to raise the minimum wage and restore the country's retirement age to 60 when he launches his 2027 election programme on Saturday.

Melenchon, 75, is viewed as the strongest contender on the left and recent opinion polls have shown him reaching the presidential runoff next April against Marine Le Pen on the far-right, but also indicate he would lose in the second round.

His manifesto, titled "L'Avenir en commun" ("A Shared Future"), is the fifth edition of the platform of his party, France Unbowed (LFI), and largely reaffirms policies that have formed the backbone of Melenchon's previous presidential bids.

Among its flagship pledges is the repeal of President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, which gradually raised France's minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 in an effort to shore up public finances.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Straits Times. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.