French leftist Melenchon rallies before presidential vote

PARIS (AP) — Three weeks before France’s presidential election, far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon has rallied tens of thousands of supporters on the streets of Paris for his biggest campaign event to date. In it, he dubbed himself as the anti-Emmanuel Macron candidate.  Polling in third or fourth place, Melenchon aimed to unite left-leaning supporters after the brutal running down of the French Socialists in recent years. Supporters chanted “We are going to win, Melenchon (for) president!” The 70-year-old candidate  highlighted his differences with President Macron, who’s the favorite to win a second term. Melenchon criticized Macron’s plan for new teaching methods in school and backed lowering the retirement age from 62 to 60.