Marine Le Pen May Get a Lift From an Unlikely Source: The Far Left
Alone among all of France’s major political personalities, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of his own “France Unsubjugated” movement, who finished a strong fourth in Sunday’s voting, has refused to endorse Ms. Le Pen’s opponent, the former economy minister Emmanuel Macron.
Mr. Mélenchon’s critics say his obstinacy is petulant, wounded pride that can only help Ms. Le Pen’s National Front. But it also speaks to the passions that Mr. Macron, a seemingly mild-mannered centrist, provokes in large parts of the French electorate, far left and far right, who share a view of the 39-year-old former investment banker as a fire-breathing incarnation of evil market culture.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/25/world/europe/france-melenchon-macron-le-pen.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0&referer=https://t.co/RjPDwj6HES
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does this remind me of? 
I am in France three times a month, have been doing so for decades, and speak the language close to fluently.
Both in France and in Belgium to the north, initiatives and polemics from the far left have been so extreme and misguided that one could almost suspect that there is no real far left here any more, but rather just an SNL routine set up to make the far right look good. What passes for the "moderate" left here would be considered screaming radicalism in the USA, so don't compare the two.
But in a place like Belgium, where the right and left are also somewhat ethnically divided (the French-speaking Wallons tend leftward where the majority Vlaamse tend in the other direction), the left managed to bring in hundred of thousands of Moroccans with practically no integration or settlement guidance other than "becomes citizens, vote for us, and we'll take care of you." Well, they did all but the last part. The only "care" they gave was to grant them immunity from practically all prosecution (in the name of "tolerance"
and give them greater welfare benefits (in the name of "integration" than to European Belgians. The very predictable reaction was for the majority Flemish to develop a seething hate for both the Walloons and the Moroccans, and far right groups suddenly had audiences beyond their wildest dreams.
In France, it was more of a laissez-fare tactic than active coddling, but the effect was the same. The far right, once a fringe movement, suddenly had something they could point their collective fingers at. The French Communist Party was almost mainstream, and was represented in almost every election. You couldn't scare the French with "kommanists."
But when Arabs started beating up cops in "no-go" areas, and then, lately, started attacks with mass murder, Le Pen suddenly had a "you need us" argument (like Cheney after 2001) they never had before. All the French and Belgians had to do was apply the same legal standards to thei new citizens that they applied to everyone else, and the far right would never have gotten a centimeter off the ground. But the more the population got the impression, fanned by sensationalist media, that the left thought that violence was "tolerable," ever higher taxes were needed to build more free housing and, not coincidentally give government functionaries free limos, huge pensions, and other lifetime privileges, and the far right was practically writing thank-you notes to their counterparts on the left for giving them a new lease on life.
It was all so predictable, and many DID predict it. But just like the multitudes that predicted a Trump presidency as being a disaster, the warnings and the accuracy of the predictions still didn't prevent the disaster from happening--at least in the USA. France, who is just coming off a disastrous five year "socialist" presidency, seems to be maintaining a collective cooler head. Hollande and Mélenchon would, you might think, be driving the French voters into Le Pen's waiting arms. I don't think it's gonna happen this time. There are no bigger critics of French politics than the French, themselves, but even though all my friends down there tell me their number one choice this year is "none of the above," not one of them says Le Pen is number two.
I do agree that his plans for austerity and generally neoliberalism (in his case, longer work hours among other things) are not necessarily good in this current environment. I hope he's not a neoliberal extremist and keeps the reforms palatable... The sad thing is, because Germany has gone neoliberal 15 years ago, France is now forced to do the same to keep up.
Macron has a positive side, too, because he's very pro-EU. Maybe he forces Germany to roll back some of our neoliberalism so we can meet halfway. 
I hope our politicians finally recognize the danger that lies in "cut wages, reduce social security, longer work hours – WE MUST BE COMPETITIVE!" when large parts of the population are not willing to take any more of it.
See the polls listed in Wikipedia: ("Voting intention by first-round vote"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_French_presidential_election,_2017
~17% of Melenchon voters plan to vote for Le Pen
~45% plan to vote Macron
~38% stay home / don't know yet
The mainstream Republican's voters are worse:
~29% plan to vote Le Pen
~45% Macron
~26% undecided
So... far-left voters still make better decisions than center-right voters. That is ... not suprising.
Also, look at Hamon's number. These guys are great. They voted for a far-left-wing socialist in the first round because they like left-wing policies. About one minute after polling stations closed, Hamon asked everyone to vote for neoliberal Macron in second round because Le Pen is an enemy of the republic, while Macron is just a political opponent. And it works: Only ~5% of Hamon voters plan to vote for Le Pen. 
