Jean-Luc Mélenchon is Being Compared With Bernie Sanders & Might be France's Next President

So, the election in France is nearing, and there are some surprises.

That in itself hardly seems a surprise, frankly. The way that the British and the American elections went last year, you just kind of figured that something would happen that might surprise people yet. Perhaps especially in France, which has a sagging economy,has seen multiple major terrorist attacks and a sinking president who announced early on that he would not run for re-election. Much like the United States, immigration is an issue, as is welfare.

France right now is in transition, and probably much like in Britain and the United States, people feel like the conventional political answers from major party figures are essentially bankrupt, that they hold no currency in their lives. The vision that these political figures have for "improving" life in France just holds no water.

And so many are gravitating towards people who traditionally would have been seen as "fringe" candidates, much like we saw in the United States. Many people make the comparisons between Trump and Bernie Sanders, as if they are basically the same, even though what separates the two men is far more important and prominent than their similarities.

So it is in France, where one candidate, Marine LePen, has long been worknig hard to try and validate her movement, the Front National, which was always seen as an extremist, if not outright racist, group.

And now, there is a new candidate who came up with his own party, with his own movement, and which is beginning to see considerable success.

This man is, and he has been likened to to Bernie Sanders. Indeed, many are suggesting that he is France's answer to Bernie Sanders.

Of course, the two men are different, from different situations. They are from different countries, and so, their political positions cannot be identical.

Yet, there are similarities - enough indeed to perhaps warrant some comparisons.

The name of the man in question is actually Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and some of his ideas most certainly will remind Americans of Sanders. He is running on a platform that is known as La France Insoumise (“Unsubmissive France”), and like Sanders, he cries out against growing inequality, corruption, and he is against involvement in foreign wars, and generally giving the power back to the people, and not corrupt government officials and/or corporate interests.
Initially, Mélenchon was not taken particularly seriously, which is also something that he has in common with Bernie Sanders. However, Mélenchon has suddenly soared in recent polls, as his message has begun to resonate with a growing number of voters, who hear in him a clear and honest message about what it wrong with their country, and how it possibly could be fixed.
Indeed, Mélenchon is a fascinating figure, and if Marine LePen is France's answer to Donald Trump, then perhaps indeed it could be argued that Mélenchon is France's answer to Bernie Sanders. Except, he created his own party, and  now has a real chance at winning!
Here are a couple of articles on him to get a closer look:

 Jean-Luc Mélenchon should be French president. Here’s why Olivier Tonneau, April 19, 2017:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/19/jean-luc-melenchon-french-president-europe?CMP=share_btn_fb

FRANCE’S BERNIE SANDERS STARTED HIS OWN PARTY AND IS SURGING IN THE POLLS Zaid Jilani April 18 2017:

https://theintercept.com/2017/04/18/frances-bernie-sanders-started-his-own-party-and-is-surging-in-the-polls/