Jean-Luc Mélenchon 's attendance before the 2012 presidential election was at 63 % , and after this , his average is often compiled with pre-2012 , so it is compiled at 71.40 % Mélenchon justified his relatively low attendance with how active he is within France itself , and has posted a list of other reasons on his blog . He increased his attendance after that , with the website '' votewatch.eu '' reporting it in 2017 at 85.1 % Mélenchon mocked accusations of support for Vladimir Putin , saying that it is unlike an " eco-socialist " to support Vladimir Putin , and has stressed that Putin had " imprisoned his friends in Russia " , and when attacked by Benoit Hamon on the topic of Putin , he stated : " I am not bound in any way to Mr. Putin . I am absolutely fighting his policy , and if I was Russian , I would not vote for his party , but for the Russian Left Front whose leader is in prison . " Mélenchon is in favour of a United Nations-led intervention in Syria featuring all nations on the Security Council . He opposes intervention without international cooperation . After the chemical attack in Ghouta , he said that he feels like a strike on Syria " would be a mistake " , and calls for a " political solution "
chemical attack in Ghouta
Ghouta chemical attack
Jean-Luc Mélenchon