French Election: The 5 Leading Presidential Candidates
Age: 65 Party: Left Party (Parti de Gauche) Political positioning: hard left Mr. Mélenchon, a onetime Trotskyite and former Socialist politician, left
that party in 2008 to create his own movement, the Left Party, backed by the Communist Party.
Age: 49 Party: Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste) Political positioning: left wing of the Socialist Party Mr. Hamon, a lawmaker
and former education minister, left the government when his party shifted its position toward pro-business, austerity policies.
Age: 62 Party: Republican Party (Les Républicains) Political positioning: right-wing conservative Mr. Fillon, a former prime minister, is a socially conservative
and pro-free-market political veteran who has called for deep cuts in public spending and major changes in the French workplace.
Political positioning: independent centrist Mr. Macron, a former economy minister, was one of the main drivers behind the
socialist government’s shift toward more pro-business economic policies, including allowing stores to open on Sundays.
Last summer, Mr. Macron left the government and started his own political movement, which
he says is neither on the left nor the right, leaving some wondering what he stands for.
Although Mr. Hamon has secured an alliance with the French Green Party, the field on the left is still divided between him
and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, considerably lowering his chances of reaching the second round.
Age: 48 Party: National Front (Front National) Political positioning: far right Ms.
