Head to head
Pick two contenders to compare their scores and their run-off match-up.
If they met in the run-off
Édouard Philippe 63.5%
36.5% Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Polls: 63.5% for Philippe (2 polls in the last two months, latest by YouGov on 15 Oct 2026).
Model projection based on the latest first-round polls and on vote transfers calibrated on run-off polls. See the method.
Their proposals
| Theme | Édouard Philippe | Jean-Luc Mélenchon |
|---|---|---|
| Pensions | Gradually raise the legal retirement age to 65 and the contribution period to 45 years, with a third of employees exempted. | Repeal the 2023 reform and restore retirement at 60 after 40 years of contributions. |
| Work and purchasing power | Exempt two hours of overtime a week from contributions (about €1,000 more a year on the minimum wage); cap unemployment benefits at 12 months for under-50s. | A minimum wage of €1,600 net, wages indexed to inflation, a price freeze on basic necessities. |
| Taxes and spending | Replace only one civil servant in three who retire; a single family allowance of €350 a month from the first child; some twenty ordinances from July 2027. | Restore a strengthened wealth tax, move to 14 income-tax brackets and cap inheritances. |
| Immigration | Halve legal immigration (well under 200,000 residence permits a year); a European list of safe countries whose nationals could no longer claim asylum. | Regularise undocumented workers and repeal the 2024 immigration law. |
| Europe and defence | Reaffirmed support for Ukraine. | Non-alignment and leaving NATO's integrated command; disobey European treaties that would block the programme. |
| Energy and climate | A single climate-adaptation fund of €2 billion a year. | Gradual exit from nuclear power and 100% renewable energy, through ecological planning. |
| Institutions and security | No specific proposal known. | A Sixth Republic drafted by a constituent assembly and put to a referendum; a citizens' initiative referendum. |
Overlaid profiles
Édouard PhilippeJean-Luc Mélenchon
Criterion by criterion
| Philippe | Criterion | Mélenchon |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Experience
|
8 |
| 9 | Name recognition
|
10 |
| 7 | Communication
|
9 |
| 6 | Polls
|
7 |
| 7 | Reach
|
2 |
| 6 | Party machine
|
8 |
| 7.3 | Overall score | 7.3 |