French unrest may boost Marine Le Pen's presidential bid

French unrest over the weekend may boost far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s presidential bid, as she frames the chaos to support her immigration-focused campaign ahead of next spring’s election. However, the political impact remains uncertain. The government and moderate politicians are blaming hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon for the violence, though prosecutors and police officials dispute this, noting rioters were mostly young and not politically aligned. Mélenchon’s slow condemnation of the unrest has drawn criticism. The unrest, which mixed student protests with revived Yellow Vests demonstrations, could alter the expected second-round matchup between Le Pen and Mélenchon. Moderates hope to push Mélenchon out, allowing a more centrist candidate to challenge Le Pen, with new polls awaited to gauge the effect.