Mélenchon's France Unbowed programme for 2027 pledges NATO exit and rejects the 5% defence target

A 2027 platform with 1,069 measures

La France insoumise (LFI) published its presidential programme, "L'Avenir en commun", on Friday, 6 November 2026. The text is an update of a version drafted in 2017, runs to more than 220 pages and contains 1,069 measures, 238 of them new. Jean-Luc Mélenchon is due to present it at a rally at Le Bourget, near Paris, on Saturday, 7 November. The cost of the programme is to be unveiled in early 2027, ahead of the presidential election that year.

Total measures1,069

New measures238

Total measures

1069 measures

New measures

238 measures

Data from the article text

Ecology and social spending

The platform treats ecological planning as the starting point of the whole programme. Hadrien Clouet, a LFI deputy who co-leads it with Clémence Guetté, says the planning idea drives the party's action. It proposes "eco-regions" that would redraw France's administrative map around features such as river basins, mountains and coastlines, and a council to oversee the relocation of essential production. The party also wants a constitutional "green rule" that limits what is taken from nature to what it can regenerate, and it keeps the phase-out of nuclear power.

On social policy, the platform raises the minimum wage to 1,700 euros net, introduces "100% Sécu" and reverses the pension reform with a return to retirement at 62. It also restores full-rate retirement at 60 after 40 years of contributions. National coordinator Manuel Bompard defended the document's continuity with earlier work.

“We are in the continuity of serious programmatic work. It is precision and enrichment.”

Defence, NATO and the United States

The platform calls for an immediate withdrawal from NATO's integrated military command, followed in stages by a departure from the alliance itself. It rejects the 5% of GDP defence spending demanded by the United States. At the 2025 Hague summit, alliance members committed to reach 5% by 2035, with 3.5% for military spending and 1.5% for wider security. France currently spends a little over 2% of GDP on defence. In a September interview with Politico, Mélenchon said leaving NATO would not mean giving up the defence of shared borders, and the platform says France would still help EU partners under the bloc's treaties.

On space and technology, the party wants to close NATO's space centre in Toulouse and create a public satellite pole. It opposes a "space arms race" and, according to Politico, argues France should acquire a space shuttle. Earlier, LFI lawmakers pushed for the purchase of Dassault Aviation's Vortex reusable spaceplane. The platform also proposes nationalising defence companies including ArianeGroup and boosting output of communications, intelligence and logistics equipment that the United States now largely supplies through NATO. A more detailed defence platform is to follow later.

EU rules and a diplomatic route on Ukraine

Politico reports that the plan would require a confrontation with European institutions. The party seeks a new deal for Europe, including rewritten treaties, the removal of core EU budget rules such as debt and deficit caps, a suspension of competition rules for energy, transport and telecoms, and looser state aid limits. Until the treaties change, LFI says it would negotiate with partners while setting aside blocking rules, and any agreement would go to a referendum. The platform also wants the European Central Bank placed under democratic control and used to finance the ecological and social transition. Earlier this year, a remark by Mélenchon about the ECB's holdings of French public debt set off a national debate. Public debt stands at 117.5% of GDP, with a deficit above 5%.

On Ukraine, the programme calls for a diplomatic framework for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops, according to Le Monde. Any peace deal would rest on collective security guarantees. Unlike Le Pen's party, LFI does not explicitly say it would end support for Ukraine.

Polls ahead of the 2027 race

An Ifop poll published on 3 November for LCI gives Mélenchon 17.5% to 18%, depending on the field, placing him second in every tested scenario behind Marine Le Pen on 35% to 37%, as Le Parisien reported. The top two finishers in the first round go through to the runoff. Polls now place Mélenchon in position to reach it for the first time in four presidential elections.