Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s French election defeat is starting to feel like a victory

Far-left party leader relishing the role of arbiter and kingmaker

Historic French Communist newspaper falls victim to facts of capitalism

‘L’Humanité’ faces liquidation after 115 years in print, as funding options run out

The Irish Times view on Karl Marx: The communist manifested

Today’s Marxists have to prove that they can win power and use it in a way that is widely beneficial

Europe holds its breath as France prepares to vote

Presidential candidates make late push as final polls show Macron well ahead of Le Pen

Hollande a long way from French socialism’s early days

The 80th anniversary of the ‘Front populaire’ is an embarrassment to the ruling socialists

French public and political class afraid to address migrant crisis

Code of silence prompted perhaps by a collective guilty conscience, and fear of strengthening the extreme right-wing National Front

‘He took the pulse of the dying man and shook his head’

Jean Jaurès, founder of French socialist party and director of L’Humanité newspaper, did his utmost to prevent the outbreak of the first World War. He was assassinated on July 31st, writes Lara Marlowe.

Profile: Jean Jaurès