Far-left Melenchon's surge shakes up French presidential race

French Communist-backed presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon drew tens of thousands of supporters to a mass open-air rally today, underlining his surging popularity just two weeks from the unpredictable election.
Polls show far-left Melenchon closing in on the frontrunners, 39-year-old centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen ahead of the April 23 vote, adding new drama to a rollercoaster campaign.
After strong performances in two televised debates, several new surveys this weekend showed him climbing to third position, with 18-19 per cent of voters saying they would vote for him.
Speaking in southern Marseille, he said voters had a choice other than the extreme-right "condemning our great multi-coloured people to hate itself" and fans of the free-market that "transforms suffering, misery and abandonment into gold and money."

Left-leaning news magazine L'Obs commented today that "the sudden emergence of Jean-Luc Melenchon among the four candidates with around 20 per cent has shattered all the predictions, (and) is sowing doubt among the favourites."
Analysts say forecasting the French two-stage election is even more difficult than usual, with an unusually high number of voters saying they do not plan to cast their ballots, or have not made up their minds.

Elsewhere today, scandal-hit rightwinger Francois Fillon held one of his biggest rallies so far, gathering thousands of flag-waving supporters at a conference hall in southern Paris.
The 61-year-old ex-prime minister is desperate to pick up momentum heading into the closing fortnight after a campaign dominated by allegations that he paid his wife hundreds of thousands of euros for a fake job in parliament.

"If he doesn't rise a few points (in the polls) this week, it's over," one former minister and Fillon ally admitted to AFP on condition of anonymity.
During the meeting, Fillon kept up his attacks on election favourite Macron, painting him as the continuation of unpopular Socialist President Francois Hollande, whom Macron served for four years as advisor then as economy minister.
"France would be the big loser: another five years of half-measures, another five years of missed opportunities," he said to cheers.
While Melenchon and Fillon gathered supporters, Macron and Le Pen were happy to spend time giving interviews.

Macron detailed what would be his priorities for his first few months in office to the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, saying one of his first measures would be to pass a law setting new ethical standards for parliament.