French radical-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has been accused of reckless speech and fuelling conspiracy theories after predicting a "serious incident or murder" designed to manipulate voters ahead of next year's presidential election, reports FRANCE 24.
In controversial remarks made on a political talk show, Mélenchon pointed to a pattern of violent incidents dominating headlines in the run-up to recent presidential contests.
"You'll see, in the last weeks of the presidential campaign, we'll have a serious incident or a murder," the fiery head of the France Unbowed party warned, citing earlier examples.
Mélenchon referred to the killing of a police officer on the Champs-Elysées just ahead of the 2017 election and Mohamed Merah's terrorist killing spree – including his attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse – before the 2012 vote.
The hard-left leader also cited an attack against a retired man in his home in 2002 that stirred much public debate and was widely blamed for helping former far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen reach an unlikely presidential runoff that year.
Mélenchon, who took 19% of the ballot in the 2017 presidential race, also drew criticism for pushing the theory that President Emmanuel Macron was an invention of shadowy and powerful interests who control the country and that next year's election had been "written in advance".
Referring to Macron's surprise victory four years ago, he said: "In every country of the world, they've invented someone like him, who comes from nowhere and who's pushed by the oligarchy."
Government ministers lashed at Mélenchon on Monday, with Junior Interior Minister Marlène Schiappa slamming a "mix of paranoia and conspiracy theories", while Digital Affairs Minister Cédric O lamented a "political and republican disaster".