French hard-left presidential candidate Melenchon continues moving up: poll

A fresh poll released on Tuesday showed veteran anti-capitalist contender Jean-Luc Melenchon's support increasing by 7 percentage points, a performance that has made him at third place few days ahead presidential election's first round on April 23.

According to ifop-Fiducial survey for Paris Match and Sud Radio, 19 percent of 1,845 respondents said they would vote Melenchon, after two televised candidates' debates had gave the wind to his sails.

The voting intentions for the two front-runners far-rightist Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron were put at 24 percent and 23 percent respectively with each of them lost 2.5 percentage points.

Dogged by his wife fictitious jobs scandal, conservative Francois Fillon lost the third place to Melenchon with 18.5 percent of predicted vote.

The survey showed "a spectacular progress of Jean-Luc Melenchon and tightening voting intentions between the four main candidates for the presidential election," the pollster said.

Speaking to RTL radio, Melenchon earlier on Tuesday, said he's confident to qualify to the second round, betting on an "entirely new landscape."

"If I am ahead of Mr. Fillon, all the arguments which say the useful vote would be Mr. Macron to avoid Fillon-Le Pen collapse," he added.

Melenchon, the hard-left, has pledged upon his election a 100 billion-euro (105.92 bilion-U.S. dollar)- investment plan to stimulate the French economy, an increase in minimum wage, reduction of working week to 32 hours and a complete renegotiation of European treaties.

Currently, 11 candidates are officially running for France's presidential election 2017.

If no contender wins a majority of votes in the first round on April 23, the top-score nominees will meet two weeks later for a run-off. (1 euro = 1.059 U.S. dollar) Endit