Mélenchon advocates for France to build stronger connections with China, French-speaking African nations, and South American countries. He views the United States as an imperialist threat, whereas Germany, despite its past tensions with President Donald Trump, considers the transatlantic alliance essential to its foreign policy. Mélenchon opposes Germany’s commitment to a free-market economy and instead supports a planned economy.
He criticizes Germany’s military buildup and the U.S. nuclear weapons stationed there, citing them as serious security risks for neighboring states. Germany is aiming to lead militarily in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the U.S. reducing its presence in the region.
Mélenchon’s 2015 book “Bismarck’s Herring,” with the subtitle “The German Poison,” addressed the admiration many French politicians had for Germany’s policies, thanks to its low unemployment and robust growth at the time. He highlighted higher poverty rates and low birth rates in Germany compared to France as evidence of the model’s drawbacks.
The book’s blurb states, “My goal is to pierce through the veil of bliss surrounding so many commentators who are fascinated by Germany. A monster has been born right before our eyes — the child of deregulated finance and a country that has devoted itself to it, ravaged by the accelerated aging of its population.”
Some parts of the French media, including the left-leaning Libération, criticized the book for being overly Germanophobic. In it, Mélenchon uses a provocative tone, claiming “political confrontation with German governments is one of the conditions for the liberation of peoples.”
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