In Paris, joy and creeping fears after French far right’s fall from grace

“Of course, we went to vote for Melenchon,” says Houcine, a 49-year-old butcher of Moroccan descent in Belleville, a diverse Parisian neighbourhood.

“On Sunday, I went to the polling station again, but it was closed. A woman explained to me that the left candidate had already won and been elected deputy after the first round. I didn’t even know,” he adds with a smile that lights up his face.

Jean-Luc Melenchon is the 72-year-old veteran socialist heading up the New Popular Front (NFP), a left-wing alliance that secured most seats in the second round of recent parliamentary elections, crucially stopping the far right from seizing power.

Houcine, a father of three who moved to France 26 years ago, embodies the joyful spirit among marginalised communities in Paris following Sunday’s run-off.