Mélenchon tosses a debt bomb into France’s presidential debate
The far-left leader wants the ECB to cancel Paris' debt. His rivals say it's madness.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a far-left presidential contender in France, has proposed a bold plan to tackle the country's staggering public debt by asking the European Central Bank to "set fire" to a significant portion of it. This radical suggestion, which has sparked outrage among economists and politicians, involves waiving interest payments on a large tranche of French bonds.
Critics, including Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and former European Commissioner Thierry Breton, have slammed the proposal as irresponsible and dangerous for the country's and the EU's economic stability. Meanwhile, Mélenchon's rivals have struggled to find common ground, with the center-right and center-left camps remaining undecided on their preferred candidates.
Despite the controversy surrounding his plan, Mélenchon remains a formidable contender in the race, with recent polls showing him neck and neck with the top centrist candidate, Edouard Philippe, and in a strong position for the second round of voting.
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