Daily Times

French prosecutors on Wednesday announced they were investigating leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon after he shoved a prosecutor in a fit of rage over having his apartment and party headquarters raided by police.

The leader of the France Unbowed party has drawn criticism over Tuesday’s outburst, with ruling party members accusing him of placing himself above the law and trying to win votes by claiming to be the victim of a political plot.

The 67-year-old said Wednesday he had “no regrets” about his reaction, explaining that he was furious because of the way the searches were carried out — and not because of the fact that they took place.

“They searched us as if we were a band of thieves,” he told BFMTV channel, adding that as a person of “Mediterranean” origin — he was born in Morocco — he had a tendency to lose his temper and there was “no need in making a big deal of it”.

A series of standoffs between Melenchon and the investigators were captured in videos that were widely shared on social media.

The first occurred after officers arrived at Melenchon’s Paris apartment at dawn and began combing it for evidence in two investigations — one into the party’s use of European Parliament funds, the other into the funding of Melenchon’s 2017 presidential campaign.

Filming the scene live on Facebook, the MP cast himself as the victim of a state plot to silence him.

“Tomorrow they’ll find an excuse to throw me in the slammer like (former Brazilian president) Lula… It’s not normal!”, he said.

Things got more heated later at the party’s headquarters, which was also searched by police along with the homes of several other party officials.

Arriving at the party’s offices, Melenchon and a group of party officials tried to force down the door.

“The republic, it’s me, I’m the one who is a parliamentarian. Get out of the way and open up this door” an apoplectic Melenchon shouted at the policeman standing guard outside before proceeding to try ram the door open. After gaining entry through another door, the former Socialist minister rounded on the prosecutor overseeing the operations inside, shouting: “I’m the leader of an opposition group. You should not be treating me in this way. I’m not a cigarette thief!”

Channelling Le Pen?

In a video shown on the Quotidien news programme, Melenchon is then seen shoving the prosecutor and a policeman, taunting the latter: “Go on, just try and touch me!”

In other scenes, a policeman is seen wrestling a party member to the ground, sparking a furious reaction from France Unbowed MP Alexis Corbiere, who shouted: “No one touches a comrade.”

The images sparked criticism of Melenchon, a political veteran famous for his tirades against globalisation and economic liberals, and his party, which has led opposition to President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-business reforms.

Published in Daily Times, October 18^th 2018.