France Unbowed Unveils Presidential Programme: Mélenchon Pledges NATO Withdrawal and Nationalisation of Major Defence Firms
Paris — France's left-wing party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) formally released its presidential election programme on November 6, the same day its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon's campaign book, L'Avenir en commun, was published. On defence and foreign policy, the programme pledges that France would immediately withdraw from NATO's integrated military command and then, in stages, from the alliance itself; rejects the United States' demand that NATO members spend 5 percent of GDP on defence; nationalises major defence companies including ArianeGroup; and halts the space arms race.
The programme advocates a 'non-aligned' French diplomacy that it describes as serving peace. On Ukraine, it does not address military assistance to Kyiv — unlike the far-right National Rally, the party does not explicitly propose ending such aid — and instead calls for a diplomatic framework to achieve a ceasefire and a Russian troop withdrawal, and for reconvening a Paris conference, with Russian participation, on a new European order. Its foreign-policy chapter centres on the Gaza war and accuses the French authorities of allowing the situation there to unfold unchecked, in the programme's own wording.
On Europe, the programme rules out leaving the European Union: lawmaker Aurélien Taché said an EU exit is not envisaged 'in any scenario,' while proposing that France 'disobey' EU rules it finds blocking — including the 3 percent deficit cap, free-trade agreements and the migration pact — whenever necessary. A more detailed defence policy document is expected later.
France holds its presidential election in 2027. Recent polls suggest Mélenchon could reach the second-round runoff against far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Leaving NATO is a long-standing Mélenchon position — he said in May, when announcing his candidacy, that France would leave the alliance if he became president — but this is the first time it has been written into the party's formally published election programme.
(Source: La France Insoumise)
Source: La France Insoumise
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：「不屈法国」领导人梅朗雄（2026年5月，资料图）。CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: La France Insoumise leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon in May 2026 (file photo). CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
