It will probably remain as the strongest image of this evening of the first round of the presidential elections: as a crowd leader, thrilled to have passed the 20% mark for the first time in his career as a candidate for the Elysée, Jean-Luc Melenchon he shouted 4 times with all his breath in his throat from the stage of the Cirque d’Hiver, elected to his headquarters: “Not a vote must go to Marine Le Pen! Not a vote must go to Marine Le Pen!”.
An appeal that is all the more important as the data that supports it: Melenchon was the most voted among young people between 18 and 34 years old in France, reveals an Elabe survey for Bfmtv. Between the ages of 18 and 24, the leader of the left would have obtained 34% of the votes while between the 25-34 year-olds 31%. Behind his back Emmanuel Macron and in third place Marine Le Pen.
Enthusiasm skyrockets, shouts, slogans and in a few minutes the hypothesis that much of the France InsoumiseMélenchon’s gruff and radical left, ended up voting Le Pen in the ballot as an anti-Macron weapon.
Regardless of how many convinced anti-macrons, yellow vests, anticasta and conspiracy theorists there are in the ranks of Mélenchon’s party, the cry of the ‘tribune’ an order appeared: “We know – he said – for whom we will never vote. We must not give votes to Le Pen. I believe that the message, for this part, has been understood “.
“I know your anger – he continued addressing his comrades to the ‘camarades’ who applauded him – do not abandon yourselves to it, which risks making you commit mistakes that would be definitively irreparable”. “As I already told you five years ago – continued the candidate who left the Socialist Party almost 15 years ago – do you remember that there was some problem after our declaration?”. The reference is to the words spoken in 2017 after the first round, which were not as clear as those of tonight. “But who do the French take them for? – he continued – They are capable of knowing for themselves what to do. They are capable of deciding what is good for the country”.
“Having said that – he continued talking about his result, which, however extraordinary, did not allow him to get to the ballot – we do not hide the violence of the disappointment. First of all, thinking about everything that would have been done and that will not be done. But at the same time, how can we hide our pride in the work we have done? “. He then set himself, this time clearly, as the leader of the left that must be reborn from its rubble: “The popular pole exists! – he said – if we hadn’t been there, what would remain? What would we have in hand? Nothing! And we have built this force! . So – he continued while some supporters were in tears – of course some of the younger ones will say to me: ok, okay, but we’re not there yet! Well, we’re not far … tonight I have a beautiful complexion, I don’t need to be consoled, the struggle continues “. Melenchon most voted among young people: his ‘angry’ voters will be the scales Melenchon the most voted among the young: his ‘angry’ voters will be the scales