Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Encyclopedia
Jean-Luc Mélenchon is a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 politician who served in the government of France as Minister of Vocational Education from 2000 to 2002. He was also a member of the Senate of France, representing the Essonne
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...

 department. He left the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...

 in November 2008 to found the Left Party with French deputy Marc Dolez
Marc Dolez
Marc Dolez is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Nord department, and is a member of the Gauche démocrate et républicaine. A former Socialist, he was a founding member, with PS Senator Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of the Left Party.-References:...

.

As leader of the Left Party, he joined the Left Front
Left Front (France)
The Left Front is a French electoral coalition for the 2009 European elections composed primarily of the French Communist Party, the Left Party and the Unitarian Left...

 before the 2009 European elections
European Parliament election, 2009 (France)
European elections to elect 72 French Members of the European Parliament were held on Sunday 7 June 2009.Due to the entry of Romania and Bulgaria in the European Union in 2007, the number of seats allocated to France was revised from 78 seats to 72 seats, a loss of 6 seats...

 and was selected as the coalition's top candidate in the South-West
South-West France (European Parliament constituency)
In European elections, South-West France is a constituency of the European Parliament. It consists of the regions of Aquitaine, Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées.-2009:-2004:...

 region. He won 8.15% of the votes cast and was elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

.

Today, Jean-Luc Mélenchon is the co-president of the Left Party along with Martine Billard. During the protest movement against the pension reform of 2010, his public stature grew thanks to his many public and television appearances.

Personal life

Born at Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...

, he was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille
Lycée Pierre Corneille (Rouen)
The Lycée Pierre-Corneille is a school in Rouen, France. It was founded by the Archbishop of Rouen, Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon and run by the Jesuits to educate the children of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie in accordance with the purest doctrinal principles of Roman Catholicism...

in Rouen. Graduated in Philosophy, he taught before entering politics.

Political ideas

Jean-Luc Mélenchon is a socialist republican, Historical materialist, inspired primarily by Jean Jaurès
Jean Jaurès
Jean Léon Jaurès was a French Socialist leader. Initially an Opportunist Republican, he evolved into one of the first social democrats, becoming the leader, in 1902, of the French Socialist Party, which opposed Jules Guesde's revolutionary Socialist Party of France. Both parties merged in 1905 in...

 (the founder of French republican socialism) and employing Marxian analysis to understand the crisis of market capitalism. Although an ally of the Communists, he is not himself a Communist.

Previously a defender of European federalism, Jean-Luc Mélenchon has given up that political commitment, saying, "the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 is no longer a solution but a problem, because economic liberalism
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...

 has totally corrupted the institution and makes it impossible to achieve democratic change which is necessary in the EU, all power belonging to technocrats with no popular legitimity." For this, he wants another Europe, democratic, united and cooperative coming out first of the Lisbon Treaty and by questioning the independence of the European Central Bank to create a European central bank public.

Based on experiences in South America just like Hugo Chavez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...

 or Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...

, Jean-Luc Mélenchon promotes a "citizens' revolution" (révolution citoyenne) drawing also on ideas from French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 and Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...

, a new strategy that respects the democratic process while seeking to win elections in order to change the constitution. This "citizens revolution" should lead to reversing the current division of wealth held by capital, represented by shareholders, and the working class, understood in the broad sense of anyone who actually works to earn money with the maximum salary. Additional goals include a new constitution that will initiate the 6th French Republic, whereby the President will have less power and Parliament more, increase wages, a public bank pole by nationalizing banks, democratization undertaken by new rights for employees in developing cooperatives and large corporations by nationalizing, an environmental planning, exit from NATO and stop the war in Afghanistan and Libya and Peace in the Middle East with the creation of a Palestinian state. Jean-Luc Mélenchon also insists on the importance of "popular involvement" through public referendums on any essential subject.

He will be the candidate representing the Left Front (France)
Left Front (France)
The Left Front is a French electoral coalition for the 2009 European elections composed primarily of the French Communist Party, the Left Party and the Unitarian Left...

 (Communists, Left Party (France)
Left Party (France)
The Left Party is a French democratic socialist political party. It seeks to emulate the German political party Die Linke led by Gesine Lötzsch and Klaus Ernst.- History :...

, Unitarian Left
Unitarian Left
Unitarian Left is a political party in France which used to be one part of a faction within the Revolutionary Communist League...

: former New Anticapitalist Party
New Anticapitalist Party
The New Anticapitalist Party is a French political party founded in February 2009. Its name was originally intended to be temporary; a vote on the name being held at the founding congress on 6–8 February 2009, where NPA won over "Revolutionary Anticapitalist Party" with 53% of the vote.The party ...

) for the French presidential election 2012.

Political career

Governmental functions

Minister of Vocational Education : 2000-2002

Electoral mandates

European Parliament

Member of European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 : Since 2009. Elected in 2009

Senate of France

Senator of Essonne
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...

 : 1986-2000 (Became minister in 2000) / 2004-2010 (Resignation, elected in European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 in 2009). Elected in 1986, reelected in 1995, 2004.

General Council

Vice-president of the General Council of Essonne
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...

 : 1998-2000 (Resignation).

General councillor of Essonne
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...

 : 1985-1992 / 1998-2004. Reelected in 1998.

Municipal Council

Deputy-mayor of Massy, Essonne : 1989-1995.

Municipal councillor of Massy, Essonne : 1983-2001. Reelected in 1989, 1995.

Political function

President of the Left Party (France)
Left Party (France)
The Left Party is a French democratic socialist political party. It seeks to emulate the German political party Die Linke led by Gesine Lötzsch and Klaus Ernst.- History :...

: Since 2008

External links

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