Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s programme: what we were able to cost

Effects on households

Eight model households, annual disposable income, calculated with OpenFisca-France for only the measures the engine can simulate (5 measures). A zero difference means that these measures do not affect this household, not that the programme changes nothing for it. *: at least one simulated measure rests on a reading by the editors. The detail, household by household, and the comparison with the other candidates.

The public accounts

How to read these amounts. These are static costs and revenues, with no feedback effect, over a full year: nothing on growth, employment or the revenue that economic activity would gain or lose. A higher net cost does not on its own make a worse policy, nor net savings a better one: each programme rests on an economic model (demand-led stimulus, lower compulsory levies, consolidation of the public accounts…) that the cost schedule does not settle. GDP itself measures a volume of activity, not well-being or the usefulness of what is produced. Economic models and feedback effects.

Line by line

• LeverPositionEffect on the public accounts, per year
• Wealth tax (IFI, ISF)Climate ISF (€10bn) and Zucman tax above €100m (€15bn)Assumption by the editors. Partial costing. Reading adopted: the « ISF renforcé » [“strengthened ISF”] is worth at least the return of the 2017 ISF, for which the cost schedule gives the net gain over the IFI (floor); the « taxe Zucman sur le patrimoine des centi-millionnaires » [“Zucman tax on the wealth of centi-millionaires”] is the 2% minimum tax on assets of more than €100m (the 2% rate comes from L'Avenir en commun, p. 27, the conference does not repeat it): the Zucman tax (2% minimum tax on assets of more than €100m) is costed at the upper end of the estimates, €15bn to €25bn (about 20), that of its proponents (Gabriel Zucman, National Assembly report no. 930 and Senate report no. 689); the administration has not simulated it; estimates that take account of emigration, tax optimisation or the deduction of corporate income tax are much lower (€2bn to €5bn). Not costed: the strengthening and the climate component of the ISF, with no rate or threshold; the reinstatement of the exit tax provided for in the programme (p. 28), with no parameters.+€24bnnew revenue, +€18bn to +€30bn
• Numbers and pay of civil servantsIndex point +10%, unfreezing written into lawAssumption by the editors. Coefficient calculated by the editors from Sénat, « L'essentiel » sur le PLF 2026, programme « Fonction publique » de la mission « Transformation et fonctions publiques » (page 2): the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Overlap with “Net monthly SMIC (minimum wage)”: the estimated common part (€1.7bn) is withheld from “Net monthly SMIC (minimum wage)”; this one is counted in full.−€15bnnew spending, −€23bn to −€15bn
• RSA (minimum income), amount and conditionsAutonomy guarantee at the poverty line (€1,216 for a single person)* Outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation (measured range: 0% to 10%). Assumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from solidarites.gouv.fr, Revalorisation annuelle au 1er avril 2026: the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Central value raised to the largest amount: cost acknowledged as underestimated, since linear extrapolation beyond +10% does not count new households becoming eligible; the central value of the coefficient (€0.17bn per point, updated to 2026 euros) is also its upper bound. Read as the RSA flat-rate amount raised to the poverty line (€1,216 for a single person, compared with €651.69), i.e. +86.6%, far beyond +10% (range of the coefficient): linear extrapolation, which does not count the entry of new households. Not costed: the individualisation of the guarantee and its extension to workers (« chaque personne » [“each person”]), which would sharply increase its cost (entry of new households not costed). Coefficient from the 2020 order updated to 2026 euros: €0.17bn per point (0.15 for households already receiving the benefit only, lower bound). External benchmarks, not counted, for an income guarantee at the poverty line, a broader scope than an increase in the flat-rate amount (young people, minimum benefits, newly eligible households): €36bn according to iFRAP (April 2022; €27.2bn excluding young people and €9.5bn for young people, threshold of €1,063); about €25bn according to La France insoumise itself (2021 amendments, same threshold); €30bn in its counter-budget of November 2017 (« garantie dignité »).−€15bn^{* (outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation)}new spending, −€15bn to −€13bn
• Legal retirement age62 first, then a return to 60Assumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from COR, Rapport annuel juin 2026, Synthèse: the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. First step only, the one for which the candidate gives the cost: the return to 60, a goal stated « plus vite » [“faster”] but with no timetable, is not costed.−€13bnnew spending, −€16bn to −€10bn
• Family quotientEnd of the marital and family quotients, tax credit per childPartial costing. Only the end of the marital quotient is costed. The replacement of the family quotient by a tax credit per child is not: its amount is not given.+€11bnnew revenue, +€10bn to +€11bn
• Adaptation to climate change€10bn adaptation plan: heatwaves, wildfires, droughtAssumption by the editors. Candidate’s amount, taken as is. Reading adopted: €10bn per year more than current resources, an amount included in the 2027 budget. The conference presents an emergency plan for « l'année prochaine » [“next year”] without saying whether it is renewed in the following years; the investments of ecological planning are announced separately.−€10bnnew spending
• Pension indexationIndex pensions to wagesAssumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from Commission des comptes de la Sécurité sociale, Les comptes de la Sécurité sociale, résultats 2025, prévisions 2026 et 2027 (octobre 2026), fiche 2.5, tableau 1: the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Indexation rule costed with the common assumption (decision of 18 October 2026): basic pensions uprated like wages from 1 January 2028, i.e. 0.7 point a year more than inflation (real growth in earned income up to 2038 in the reference scenario of the COR (pensions advisory council), annual report of June 2026); five upratings from 2028 to 2032, 3.5 cumulative points. Reading key: one point of gap for one year costs about €2.35bn net (2.1 to 3.0). With the average gap from 2001 to 2023, 1.1 points (Institut Montaigne), the cost would be about €12.9bn net. Only basic pensions are costed: supplementary pensions, set by the social partners, do not fall under the law (partial costing). On 14 October 2026, Éric Coquerel announces that he will « indexer toutes les pensions, prestations sociales » [“index all pensions, social benefits”], with the 10% increase in APL, for €8bn in all (amount cited at the housing benefit position), without saying on which index.−€8.2bnnew spending, −€10bn to −€7.3bn
• Minimum pensionFull-career pensions at least at SMIC level* Outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation (measured range: 0 to 100 €/month). Assumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from Cour des comptes, Situation financière et perspectives du système de retraites, note 14: the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Reading adopted: total pension for a full career raised to at least the current net SMIC (€1,477.93), starting from the target of the 2023 law (85% of the net SMIC, i.e. €1,256), hence +€222 per month of guaranteed minimum pension; beyond +€100 (range of the coefficient), linear extrapolation. The 85% target is an objective, not a guaranteed amount: the actual gap varies according to careers. Not costed: the SMIC raised to €1,600 net in the same programme, which would raise this minimum further, and the minimum old-age income raised to the poverty line. Central value of the coefficient used: its upper bound, according to the cost schedule itself, overstates the cost (it assumes that all beneficiaries receive the full increase). External benchmark, not counted: the Institut Montaigne costs the upgrading of the minimum contributory pension to the level of a SMIC of €1,600 net for full careers at €13.9bn per year by 2027 (increase of €286 per month applied to €7.7bn of minimum contributory pension spending; 2024 legislative elections, page on the Nouveau Front populaire's pension proposals).−€7.8bn^{* (outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation)}new spending, −€12bn to −€4bn
• Nurseries and childcarePublic early-childhood service, 500,000 childcare places in 5 years* Outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation (measured range: 0 to 200,000 places). Assumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from DREES, Minima sociaux 2024, fiche 34, tableau 4: the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. 500,000 places in crèches and other childcare arrangements over five years, at the average cost per place across all arrangements from the Cour des comptes; beyond 200,000 places (measured range), linear extrapolation. The public early childhood service is not costed beyond these places.−€7.5bn^{* (outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation)}new spending, −€7.5bn to −€6.5bn
• Energy renovations per yearAt least 700,000 homes insulated a year* Outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation (measured range: 91,374 homes only). Assumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from Chiffres clés de l'Anah 2024 (DREAL Corse): the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Central value brought down to the smallest amount: « logements isolés » [“insulated homes”]: the text says neither « globale » [“comprehensive”] nor « d'ampleur » [“major”], and insulation alone costs less than a major renovation; lower bound: average grant for a major renovation in a co-owned building (€11,800). Reading adopted, the same as for Marine Tondelier, Fabien Roussel and François Ruffin: the insulation of a dwelling is read as a major renovation, costed at the current average public aid (€26,100; lower bound: €11,800, average aid in jointly owned buildings), at the floor of « au moins 700 000 » [“at least 700,000”] dwellings per year, once the target is reached; any value other than that of 2024 is a linear extrapolation. The text says « isolés » [“insulated”], neither « globale » [“comprehensive”] nor « d'ampleur » [“major”]: insulation alone would cost less than a major renovation, hence the central value brought down to the lower bound.−€7.3bn^{* (outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation)}new spending, −€22bn to −€7.3bn
• Net monthly SMIC (minimum wage)SMIC raised to €1,700 net* Outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation (measured range: 1,477.93 to 1,691 €/month). Assumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from legisocial, Montant du SMIC 2026: the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Of which €1.7bn not added, common base with “Numbers and pay of civil servants”. The lowest public sector salaries are raised by both measures. SMIC share: the increase in the public sector wage bill that it counts, 1.8 of the €2.5bn of the lower bound (expert group, 2019, table VI.1), nothing in the upper bound (Carbonnier, excluding the public sector wage bill), 0.9 of the €3.75bn of the central value, average of the two. Pay index point share: a ratio of bases, the same whatever the convention, provided both bases are counted in the same way. At full employer cost (upper bound for the point): the pay bill raised by an increase in the SMIC, €1.8bn for +6.95%, i.e. about €26bn, compared with the €227bn raised by a 1% increase in the point (€2.27bn, Senate), 11%. Excluding employer contributions (central value for the point, €1.53bn, i.e. a base of about €153bn), both bases are reduced in the same proportion (244.6 / 362.1, Cour des comptes): about €17.6bn out of 153, still 11%. Editors' calculations.−€6.7bn^{* (outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation)}revenue cut, −€11bn to −€3.9bn; €1.7bn more, costed, not added
• Corporate income taxProgressive IS, from the current SME rate up to 33% for large companies* Outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation (measured range: 25% only). Assumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from Fipeco, L'impôt sur les sociétés, et de Insee Références, Les entreprises en France, édition 2023, fiche 3.6 « Impôt sur les sociétés » (données DGFiP 2021): the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Reading adopted, the most cautious one: only large companies (about 300 taxpayers, Insee category) move from 25% to 33%, very small, small and medium-sized enterprises (TPE-PME) keeping the current rate; the intermediate rates (mid-sized companies in particular), between the two bounds, are not given and are not costed. Base: 8 points × €0.79bn (coefficient for one point of the standard rate × share of large companies in gross IS (corporate income tax), 33% in 2021); linear, static extrapolation, which ignores profit shifting. The announced yield (€3bn, for 2027) is cited, not counted; the exceptional surcharge on large companies, renewed for the last time in 2027, is not in the law in 2032.+€6.3bn^{* (outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation)}new revenue, +€6.2bn to +€7.7bn
• Tax and social security expendituresTrim the main tax expenditures (CIR, Dutreil, exemptions…) for €22bnAssumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from Assemblée nationale, compte rendu de la 3e séance du 6 novembre 2025 (PLFSS 2026), pages 8943-8944 and from Service-public.fr (entreprendre), Réduction générale dégressive unique (RGDU) des cotisations patronales: the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Only the two fully defined measures are costed (rule of 18 October 2026: a revenue is calculated on its own measure when it is named). The end of the employer exemption on overtime is read as the abolition of the flat-rate deduction of employer contributions (€872m forecast for 2026 below 250 employees, PLFSS 2026, annex 4, table 13, plus €150m for its extension to large companies by the LFSS for 2026). « Suppression des exonérations des salaires de 3 fois le SMIC à 2 fois le SMIC » [“Abolition of exemptions on wages from 3 times the SMIC to 2 times the SMIC”]: reading adopted, the exit point of the single tapered general reduction brought down from 3 to 2 SMIC, the reduction remaining the same below that (the same reading as for the exit at 1.6 SMIC for Marine Tondelier); the share paid in this band is an editors' calculation (the reduction's schedule applied to the 2024 wage bill). The « gel des exonérations à partir de 3 fois le SMIC » [“freeze of exemptions from 3 times the SMIC”] has no object: no general reduction has been paid above 3 SMIC since 2026. Not costed, for lack of a rate or amount: the trimming of the research tax credit, the Dutreil pact, employee and retirement savings, life insurance, dismemberment of ownership and the « Copé » tax expenditure (€22bn would correspond to a uniform 25% trimming of the €88bn of tax expenditures, which the quote does not say). The announced yield of €22bn remains cited, not counted. Poorly transcribed passages (around 0:50:44): « CISAP » (perhaps the tax credit for personal services) and « niches copées » (probably the « Copé » tax expenditure on capital gains from the sale of participating interests).+€5.6bnnew revenue, +€4.9bn to +€6.1bn
• Violence against women and children€5bn plan against violence against women and childrenAssumption by the editors. Candidate’s amount, taken as is. Reading adopted: €5bn per year more than current appropriations, an amount included in the 2027 budget. The quote presents the €5bn as an increase: it contrasts this plan with the €1.5bn announced by the Government, described as a « socle existant » [“existing base”] that « n'est pas une augmentation » [“is not an increase”]. It is therefore not a total from which existing spending should be deducted, unlike the €3bn of the comprehensive law for other candidates. The conference does not say whether the plan is renewed every year or over how many years it runs.−€5bnnew spending
• New nuclear reactorsNuclear phase-out, EPR projects abandonedAssumption by the editors. Coefficient calculated by the editors from EDF, communiqué du 18 décembre 2025, « EDF shares its forecasted cost estimate of the EPR2 programme for €72.8bn » (copie d'archive du 13 octobre 2026, le site renvoyant une erreur 403): the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. +€4.4bnless State lending, on the debt, +€3.7bn to +€7.2bn
• Unemployment, max. benefit durationRepeal Macron's unemployment insurance reformsAssumption by the editors. Reading adopted: the repeal of the « méthodes de calcul […] de la durée » [“methods of calculating […] the duration”] targets the 2023 countercyclical modulation, the only reform of the maximum duration under Emmanuel Macron at the date of the programme (2025). The 2019-2021 calculation is counted under the “Benefit amount and tapering” lever.−€4.2bnnew spending, −€4.5bn to −€4.2bn
• Profit sharing (participation, intéressement)Capped dividends; profit-sharing schemes subject to contributionsPartial costing. Quote in two passages: p. 35 (dividend cap) and p. 38 (contributions). Only the contributions on profit-sharing, employee profit participation and employee savings are costed (base exemptions, PLFSS 2026). Not costed: the dividend cap, a distribution rule with no static budgetary effect costed by any source; the contributions on dividends and on companies' financial income, provided for in the same sentence, with no base or rate; the PERCO and the collective company PER (€0.2bn net in 2026), which Annex 4 classifies with supplementary pensions. The option also includes employee share ownership (stock options, free shares), which the text does not cite but which weighs €0bn net.+€3.7bnnew revenue, +€3.7bn to +€4.9bn
• Taxation of digital giants and multinationals15% GAFAM tax, multinationals' profits adjusted to turnover in France* Outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation (measured range: 3% only). Assumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from PLF 2027, Évaluation des voies et moyens, tome I (pages 24, 25, 29 et 30): the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Central value brought down to the smallest amount: amount acknowledged as overestimated, since raising the global turnover threshold to €2bn is not modelled; lower bound of the coefficient: yield of one point based on the revised forecast for 2026 (€906m ÷ 3). The « taux de 15 % adopté en commission des finances sur les GAFAM » [“15% rate adopted in the finance committee on the GAFAM”] is that of amendment no. I-CF618 to the budget bill for 2027 (Arnaud Bonnet and the MPs of the Écologiste et social group, adopted by the finance committee of the National Assembly in October 2026, https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/17/amendements/3210A/CION_FIN/CF618): digital services tax raised from 3% to 15% and worldwide turnover threshold raised from €750m to €2bn, the scheme of amendment no. I-3615 to the budget bill for 2026 co-signed by Gabriel Attal and Olivier Becht, which its explanatory statement says it takes up. Costed like it: 15% rate applied to all liable companies, at the average yield of one point at the current 3% rate (coefficient calculated by the editors from the PLF 2027 forecast): linear extrapolation, which ignores the reaction of liable companies. Not modelled: the raising of the worldwide turnover threshold from €750m to €2bn, which takes companies out of the tax and reduces its yield; the amount is overestimated accordingly (share of these companies in the revenue not published). Not costed: the adjustment of multinationals' profits according to the turnover achieved in France, which no administrative source costs.+€3.6bn^{* (outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation)}new revenue, +€3.6bn to +€3.9bn
• Inheritance and gift taxEverything taken above €12m inherited, €150,000 exempt; €20bn expectedAssumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from CAE, note n° 69, « Repenser l'héritage », décembre 2021 (page 3) and from Projet de loi de finances rectificative pour 2012 (Assemblée nationale, n° 71), évaluations préalables, article 4 (pages 172 et 173 du PDF): the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Reading: « au-dessus de 12 millions d'euros, nous prenons tout » [“above 12 million euros, we take everything”] applies to the share received by each heir above €12m (cumulative transfers over a lifetime, as L'Avenir en commun provides); the exemption « à hauteur de 150 000 euros » [“up to 150,000 euros”] is an allowance of €150,000 per direct-line heir. Gain of €3.5bn to €4.0bn (editors' calculation on the CAE (Council of Economic Analysis) distribution of inheritances, static, with no behavioural effect), €9bn according to the Institut Montaigne estimate (2022) for a threshold assessed on taxable net wealth, upper bound; cost of the allowance: €0.75bn. Not costed: the progressivity, « pas finalisée » [“not finalised”]. The €20bn announced relates to the 2027 budget and to the inheritance tax as a whole.+€3.1bnnew revenue, +€2.8bn to +€8.3bn
• Emergency shelter€3bn homelessness plan: emergency shelters built, requisitionsAssumption by the editors. Candidate’s amount, taken as is. Plan against homelessness announced at €3bn (Éric Coquerel, 14 October 2026), with no number of places: envelope taken at the candidate's amount, read as €3bn a year in a full year (the amount is given for the 2027 budget). Benchmark: programme 177 as a whole is worth €3.07bn in the PLF 2026; converted at the average cost of a place in the current stock (€6.6k to €15k), the plan would fund 200,000 to 450,000 places, which shows that it mixes construction and operation.−€3bnnew spending
• Public hospitals€3bn more for hospitals and 10,000 care staff postsAssumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from PLFSS 2026, annexe 5 (ONDAM): the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Reading adopted: the €3bn goes to the resources of public health establishments, i.e. 2.3% of the « établissements de santé » [“health establishments”] sub-target by 2032 (about €1.3bn per point). The sentence can be read in two ways: €3bn in total, posts included, or €3bn plus the cost of the 10,000 posts; the amounts announced item by item only add up to the spending total (€81.7bn) if the posts cost about €3bn more. This second amount is not costed.−€3bnnew spending, −€3.2bn to −€2.5bn
• Automatic payment, single social allowanceIndividualise entitlements and automate social benefitsAssumption by the editors. Partial costing. Reading adopted: automation (« proposer l'automatisation des prestations sociales » [“propose the automation of social benefits”]) raises take-up of the RSA and the in-work benefit (prime d'activité) to 100%, which is the upper bound of its effect. Only automation for the RSA and the in-work benefit is costed. The automation of other benefits and the individualisation of entitlements are not costed.−€2.9bnnew spending, −€3bn to −€2bn
• Benefit amount and taperingRepeal Macron's calculation; benefit based on the latest wagesAssumption by the editors. The repeal of « l'éligibilité et des méthodes de calcul du montant » [“eligibility and the methods of calculating the amount”] is read as that of the entire 2019-2021 reform (access, calculation, degressivity). Overlap with “Unemployment, max. benefit duration” examined: estimated common base zero, both amounts are added. The 2023 reform was costed on the law resulting from the 2019-2021 reform, and Unédic itself adds the two together (€2.2bn for 2019-2021, €4.5bn for 2023, €6.7bn together in steady state, February 2023, table A).−€2.3bnnew spending
• Flat-rate levy on capital (flat tax)Abolish the flat tax, tax capital like labour+€1.9bnnew revenue, +€1bn to +€2.3bn
• Arduous workReinstate the arduousness factors abolished in 2017, new criteriaPartial costing. Only the reinstatement of the risk factors removed in 2017 is costed; the new criteria related to emotional strain are not.−€1.7bnnew spending, −€2bn to −€0.3bn
• Social housing200,000 public housing units a year for five yearsAssumption by the editors. Coefficient calculated by the editors from AN, rapport spécial PLF 2026, Logement et hébergement d'urgence (F. Jolivet): the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. −€1.6bnnew spending, −€1.7bn to −€1.4bn
• Personal housing benefits (APL)Raise housing benefit (APL) by 10%Assumption by the editors. Coefficient calculated by the editors from AN, rapport spécial PLF 2026, Logement et hébergement d'urgence: the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. −€1.6bnnew spending, −€1.7bn to −€1.5bn
• Old age and long-term care10,000 places a year in public care homes (EHPAD) for 5 years; new funding modelAssumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from PLFSS 2026, annexe 6 « Situation financière des établissements de santé et des établissements médico-sociaux », tableau « Evolution des ressources issues de la branche autonomie par type d'établissements et services » (personnes âgées), pages 37-38: the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Reading adopted: 10,000 places a year for five years, from 2028 to 2032, i.e. 50,000 places in operation in 2032, at the average annual public cost of a care home (Ehpad) place (health insurance care, about €21,900 per place, and APA (personalised autonomy allowance) in an establishment, €4,940 per beneficiary; editors' calculation based on the PLFSS 2026 and Drees). Not costed: construction of the places (one-off investment), accommodation, paid by residents or by social assistance, and the rest of the sentence (« refonder le modèle de financement » [“rebuild the funding model”], « l'augmentation des moyens matériels et humains » [“the increase in material and human resources”]), with no amount.−€1.4bnnew spending, −€1.4bn to −€1.1bn
• State grants to local authoritiesRebalance the communes' DGF and index it to inflationAssumption by the editors. Coefficient calculated by the editors from réponse du Gouvernement à la question orale n° 545 (Assemblée nationale): the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Reading adopted: the municipalities' DGF (general operating grant) (€12.8bn in 2025) uprated each year in line with inflation, instead of a stable amount in current euros. Common assumption of the editors: 1.75% inflation a year (1.5 to 2.0%), five upratings from 2028 to 2032. Reading key: one point of gap for one year costs €0.13bn. The rebalancing between municipalities, with no amount, is counted as neutral (within a constant envelope); inter-municipal bodies are not counted.−€1.2bnnew spending, −€1.3bn to −€1bn
• Pupils per class, primaryBelow the European average of 19 pupils, nursery and REP schools firstAssumption by the editors. Partial costing. Coefficient calculated by the editors from Sénat, rapport spécial PLF 2026, Enseignement scolaire (O. Paccaud): the position is marked as an assumption by the editors. Reading: average of 19 pupils in public primary schools, the bound of the target « faire mieux que la moyenne en Europe, qui est actuellement à 19 élèves » [“do better than the European average, which is currently 19 pupils”]; aiming lower would cost more. Not costed: the reduction in secondary education (« partout » [“everywhere”]).−€1.1bnnew spending, −€1.7bn to −€1.1bn
• Medical deductiblesRepeal the 2024 increase in medical deductibles−€0.8bnrevenue cut, −€0.8bn to −€0.7bn
• University tuition feesFree higher education from bachelor's to doctorate, all nationalities, no CVEC−€0.7bnrevenue cut, −€0.7bn to −€0.6bn
• Financial transaction taxFinancial transaction tax, €5bn of revenue announced* Outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation (measured range: 0.3% to 0.4%). Assumption by the editors. Partial costing. Reading: the tax « adoptée en commission des finances » [“adopted in the finance committee”] is LFI's amendment no. I-CF780 to the PLF 2027, co-signed by Éric Coquerel and adopted in committee (October 2026): 0.5% on transactions other than intraday or derivative transactions, 0.1% on intraday transactions, 0.01% of the notional amount of derivative contracts, base extended to all financial instruments. Costed: the 0.5% rate on the current base, at the yield of the last increase costed by the Senate finance committee (€0.6bn per 0.1 point), linear extrapolation beyond 0.4%, which ignores the fall in the volume of transactions. Not costed: the extension of the base (intraday, derivatives, other securities), with no administrative costing; the amendment expects « jusqu'à 11 milliards d'euros supplémentaires par an » [“up to 11 billion euros extra per year”] from it, the candidate €5bn.+€0.6bn^{* (outside the range measured by the source: linear extrapolation)}new revenue
• High cost of living overseasPrice and margin controls on essentials€0bnzero cost
• Family allowancesRejects reserving family allowances for French nationals€0bnzero cost
• Funded shareNo alternative to pay-as-you-go; funded pensions solve nothing€0bnzero cost
• Student support€1 meals in all CROUS, in force for all since May 2026€0bnzero cost
• Motorway concessionsRenationalise motorways and reverse past price increasesAssumption by the editors. Partial costing. Reading adopted: renationalisation, with no date, means taking over the concessions when they expire (2031-2036), under direct public operation: zero static cost compared with the framework transport bill. Other reading: early buyout, €1.2bn to €1.6bn of interest a year (cost-schedule option). Same reading as for François Ruffin and Marine Tondelier. Not costed: the reversal of past price increases, with no reference year; each 10% cut in tolls costs about €1.3bn a year (cost-schedule option). Strategic airports, cited in the same sentence, fall under the nationalisations lever.€0bnzero cost
• State medical aid (Aide médicale de l'État)Guarantee access to the AME (state medical aid)€0bnzero cost

Overlaps

Amounts announced by the candidate

The amounts that Jean-Luc Mélenchon puts forward, with the direction given to them (“+”: gain for the public accounts, “−”: cost). They are never added to the totals or to each other. The gap with our calculation is only given when both cover the same scope: not for a position that is not costed, costed in part, based on an assumption by the editors, or whose amount is the candidate’s own, taken as is; and only when the announcement falls outside the range of our calculation (otherwise: “within the range”).

• LeverWhat the candidate saysAnnounced, per year
• Legal retirement ageÉric Coquerel, press conference of 14 October 2026 (around 0:44:49): « nous commençons par la retraite à 62 ans, qui sera mise en application avec là aussi un coût qui est estimé à 9 milliards d'euros » [“we are starting with retirement at 62, which will be implemented with, here too, a cost estimated at 9 billion euros”]Our calculation: −€13bn per year. No gap calculated: the announcement covers a different scope or a different year.−€9bnnew spending
• Wealth tax (IFI, ISF)Éric Coquerel, press conference of 14 October 2026 (around 0:49:07): « un ISF climatique à hauteur de 10 milliards d'euros » [“a climate ISF amounting to 10 billion euros”]; « la taxe Zucman sur le patrimoine des centi-millionnaires qui est à 15 milliards d'euros » [“the Zucman tax on the wealth of centi-millionaires, which is at 15 billion euros”]Our calculation: +€24bn per year. No gap calculated: costing based on an assumption by the editors.+€25bnnew revenue
• Benefit amount and taperingÉric Coquerel, press conference of 14 October 2026 (around 0:47:34): « Et nous comptons abroger toutes les réformes sur les droits à l'assurance chômage, c'est-à-dire 3 milliards d'euros. » [“And we intend to repeal all the reforms on unemployment insurance entitlements, that is 3 billion euros.”]Our calculation: −€2.3bn per year. No gap calculated: the announcement covers a different scope or a different year.−€3bncost to the public accounts
• Minimum income for under-25sÉric Coquerel, press conference of 14 October 2026 (around 0:38:12): « Cette garantie d'autonomie de jeunesse, pour atteindre le seuil de pauvreté, nous la comptabilisons à 9,5 milliards d'euros » [“This youth autonomy guarantee, to reach the poverty line, we count at 9.5 billion euros”]Position not costed. Quoted, not counted.−€9.5bnnew spending
• Flat-rate levy on capital (flat tax)Éric Coquerel, press conference of 14 October 2026 (around 0:49:07): « Ça commence par évidemment la suppression de la flat tax, qui est le bouclier social du capital. C'est 9 milliards d'euros. » [“It starts, obviously, with the abolition of the flat tax, which is the social shield of capital. That is 9 billion euros.”]Our calculation: +€1.9bn per year. No gap calculated: the announcement covers a different scope or a different year.+€9bnnew revenue
• Tax and social security expendituresÉric Coquerel, press conference of 14 October 2026 (around 0:50:41): « 22 milliards qui sont récupérés sur les niches. » [“22 billion recovered from tax expenditures.”]Our calculation: +€5.6bn per year. No gap calculated: the announcement covers a different scope or a different year.+€22bnnew revenue
• Tax and social security fraudÉric Coquerel, press conference of 14 October 2026 (around 0:52:32): « 2 milliards sur les fraudes, là aussi, nous sommes raisonnables. On aura plus les autres années, au fur et à mesure que nous aurons embauché du personnel au niveau de la DGFIP. » [“2 billion on fraud, here too, we are being reasonable. We will have more in the other years, as we hire staff at the DGFIP.”]Position not costed. Quoted, not counted.+€2bnnew revenue
• Inheritance and gift taxÉric Coquerel, press conference of 14 October 2026 (around 0:50:13): « C'est une taxe sur les héritages que nous estimons à 20 milliards d'euros. » [“It is a tax on inheritances that we estimate at 20 billion euros.”]Our calculation: +€3.1bn per year. No gap calculated: the announcement covers a different scope or a different year.+€20bnnew revenue

What this costing does not measure

• Growth and employmentThe effect of the measures on activity and employment, and the revenue gained or lost as a result; it depends on the economic model used: models and feedback effects.
• Education, health, researchLong-term effects on human capital, productivity and innovation.
• InequalityThe distribution of gains and losses across the whole population, beyond the eight model households.
• Public servicesWhat new spending or savings change in the quality of the services provided and in access to them.
• Environment and climateEffects on emissions, natural resources and adaptation to climate change.
• Sovereignty and external dependenceEffects on the country’s dependence on other countries: energy, industry, defence, supplies.
• Interest rates on the debtThe effect of a programme on the terms on which the State borrows, which also depend on the make-up of the holders of its debt.