Head to head
Pick two contenders to compare their scores and their run-off match-up.
If they met in the run-off
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 36.5%
63.5% Édouard Philippe
Polls: 36.5% for Mélenchon (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 | Jean-Luc Mélenchon | Édouard Philippe |
|---|---|---|
| Pensions | Repeal the 2023 reform and restore retirement at 60 after 40 years of contributions. | Gradually raise the legal retirement age to 65 and the contribution period to 45 years, with a third of employees exempted. |
| Work and purchasing power | A minimum wage of €1,600 net, wages indexed to inflation, a price freeze on basic necessities. | 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. |
| Taxes and spending | Restore a strengthened wealth tax, move to 14 income-tax brackets and cap inheritances. | 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. |
| Immigration | Regularise undocumented workers and repeal the 2024 immigration law. | Halve legal immigration (well under 200,000 residence permits a year); a European list of safe countries whose nationals could no longer claim asylum. |
| Europe and defence | Non-alignment and leaving NATO's integrated command; disobey European treaties that would block the programme. | Reaffirmed support for Ukraine. |
| Energy and climate | Gradual exit from nuclear power and 100% renewable energy, through ecological planning. | A single climate-adaptation fund of €2 billion a year. |
| Institutions and security | A Sixth Republic drafted by a constituent assembly and put to a referendum; a citizens' initiative referendum. | No specific proposal known. |
Overlaid profiles
Jean-Luc MélenchonÉdouard Philippe
Criterion by criterion
| Mélenchon | Criterion | Philippe |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Experience
|
9 |
| 10 | Name recognition
|
9 |
| 9 | Communication
|
7 |
| 7 | Polls
|
6 |
| 2 | Reach
|
7 |
| 8 | Party machine
|
6 |
| 7.3 | Overall score | 7.3 |