French presidential elections: about 70% of Muslims voted for Jean-Luc Melenchon

The majority of Muslim French nationals have voted for left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round of the French presidential elections, which took place on April 10, according to an Ifop study released by French media outlets.

According to the study, 69% of Muslims with the right to vote for the next French president have chosen Melenchon, among all 12 candidates, in addition to voters who do not consider themselves to be of any religious affiliation (30%).

​​Collective for Countering Islamophobia in Europe (CCIE) shared the results of a survey ahead of the presidential elections on its Twitter, indicating that ​​81.1% of the members surveyed declared their intention to vote for Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round.

The official results of the first round showed that Emmanuel Macron dominated the votes (27.84%), ahead of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen (23.15%), with Melenchon coming 3rd (21.95%).

Available data showed a change in the perception of Muslim people over years, prompted by the vote “reinforcing respect for the principles of the Republic and the fight against separatism.”

Jean-Luc Melenchon marked his opposition against the motion, as well as to the media polemics occurring in the last few months about Muslims.

He even described the law as “counter-republican, whose anti-Muslim vocation is quite clear,” considering that the text doesn’t make sense during his speech after being elected as president of the group La France Insoumise (LFI) in the National Assembly.

“Certainly, Islamophobia is a word that we do not appreciate, we prefer to fight hatred of Muslims, and no religion can be criticized”, he stated on his personal blog last Thursday.

However, the first round of presidential elections disappointed Muslim people’s hopes, as Melenchon was ousted from the second round, which is set to take place on April 24.