“I do not accept the idea that anyone in Europe wants to build the largest conventional army,” Jean-Luc Mélenchon said while commemorating the end of the First World War in Gentioux-Pigerolles.
The French presidential candidate, currently polling as a top contender for the May 2, 2027, runoff, is set to bring his strident brand of left-wing politics to Berlin later this month.
The veteran founder of La France insoumise (LFI) intends to promote his book, Die Stunde der Vielen—a manifesto for 21st-century revolution—at Berlin’s Babylon cinema. Ahead of this visit, Mélenchon has escalated his rhetoric against the German government, specifically targeting Friedrich Merz over his stated ambition to transform the Bundeswehr into Europe’s most formidable conventional military force.
Mélenchon’s critique marks a departure from his previous campaign focus on domestic policy and Ukraine, signaling a more aggressive stance toward Germany. “Whoever does not know their history and has not thought about it risks repeating it,” he warned, framing the German rearmament as a direct threat to France.
He challenged the German government to clarify its strategic intentions, asking, “Against whom do you want to wage war with this army? Tell us in advance so we finally know what you are aiming for.”
The Battle Over Industrial Sovereignty
The candidate’s hostility extends into the industrial sphere, where he has launched a blistering attack on the deepening military-industrial cooperation between Paris and Berlin.
Mélenchon explicitly condemned the partnership surrounding the KNDS defense group—which produces the Leclerc tank and the Caesar artillery system—as a “ridiculous display of friendship” that facilitates the selling off of French assets. He further decried Germany’s potential move to assume leadership roles within Airbus as a continuation of a “Monopoly game” at France’s expense.
“How long will Macron and his team of sellouts continue this game at our country’s expense?” Mélenchon wrote on the platform X. He has promised that if he assumes power next spring, he will reverse these integration efforts and hold those responsible for the current policies to account.
This hardline protectionism aligns with his broader goal of withdrawing France from NATO, starting with an exit from the alliance’s integrated command structures.
Mélenchon has long criticized the German-led ordoliberalism within the European Union, which he claims impoverishes citizens across the bloc. His platform, L’Avenir en commun, proposes a radical economic shift toward demand-side stimulus, financed by higher taxes on the wealthy and targeted expropriations for climate protection. He plans to raise the net monthly minimum wage to 1,700 euros and restore the retirement age to 60, provided 40 years of contributions are met.
Mélenchon Connects with German Figures While Using Anti-German Sentiment
Mélenchon’s political trajectory has frequently intersected with German figures, most notably Oskar Lafontaine. After leaving the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 2007 to found the Left Party, Lafontaine served as a template for Mélenchon’s own departure from the French Socialist Party. Despite this historical connection, Mélenchon has consistently utilized anti-German sentiment to sharpen his populist profile, a trend documented in his 2015 work, Bismarcks Hering.
By vowing to govern via emergency decrees—or “social emergency” orders—should he win in May, he intends to bypass traditional parliamentary checks.
While the German government pursues a policy of increased defense spending to meet NATO targets, Mélenchon’s vision of a “global front of non-aligned states” represents a fundamental rejection of the current transatlantic security architecture. He maintains that France has no place in “American wars,” a sentiment that resonates with his core supporters but creates anxiety among France’s partners in Berlin and Brussels.
As the campaign moves toward the decisive May 2 ballot, the political landscape in France includes the presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Mélenchon has made it clear that he will not pivot to the center, stating, “It is out of the question that I moderate my discourse in the coming months.”
With the Berlin visit approaching, observers are watching to see how his “challenge to the oligarchy” will be received by a German public.
