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