Fact-checks on the candidates

  • Faux : A post claims that Jean-Luc Mélenchon owns assets worth 2,465,000 euros and receives 36,105 euros of public money per month. Ce qui est vrai : This message has been circulating since 2015. His latest declaration to the HATVP, in 2022, does not match the amount claimed. He has held no mandate since June 2022, and his pensions as a former elected official remain far below 36,105 euros per month. (Les Surligneurs)
  • Non corroboré : After the Aubagne shooting, Éric Zemmour described the city as largely Islamized and linked it to a high level of violence. Ce qui est vrai : Les Observateurs de France 24 consider this link uncorroborated. The rate of violence outside the family setting in Aubagne was 5.1% in 2025, lower than in several comparable cities. The counterterrorism investigation links the 14-year-old attacker to an online community that glorifies mass killers. (France 24 Les Observateurs)
  • Légèrement surestimé : Raphaël Glucksmann claimed that nursery classes in France have 23 children, comparing this with the OECD. Ce qui est vrai : According to the ministry, the average is 21.7 pupils per class at the start of the 2025 school year. The figure is therefore close to reality but slightly overestimated. The OECD measures the number of pupils per teacher, not class size, which skews the comparison. (franceinfo Vrai ou faux)
  • À nuancer : Édouard Philippe claimed that civil servants are already subject to compulsory funded pension savings. Ce qui est vrai : The law classifies the supplementary pension scheme for civil servants (RAFP) as a provisioned pay-as-you-go scheme, not as funded savings. The only funded option, the Préfon, is optional. Les Surligneurs consider the claim in need of nuance. (Les Surligneurs)
  • Faux : Bruno Retailleau claimed that France is the only European country where unemployment is rising. Ce qui est vrai : According to Eurostat, as cited by TF1, unemployment is also rising in 14 other eurozone countries. The rise in France is real, but it is far from a European exception. (TF1 Les Vérificateurs)
  • Plutôt faux : Marine Le Pen claimed that 70% of French people are eligible for social housing but only 11% benefit from it. Ce qui est vrai : Both figures come from genuine studies, but they cannot be read the way she reads them. Franceinfo concluded the claim is rather false. TF1 and Libération CheckNews also consider these figures to be presented misleadingly in support of national priority. (franceinfo Vrai ou faux)
  • Faux : A photo of Fabien Roussel in front of a huge crowd at the Fête de l'Humanité was allegedly generated by artificial intelligence to inflate attendance. Ce qui est vrai : Analysis of the image and other elements of the scene shows that the photo is authentic. The clue cited as a sign of AI is not one, according to France 24. The rally did take place on September 12, his first event since announcing his candidacy. (TF1 Les Vérificateurs)
  • Non étayé : In February 2025, Bruno Retailleau claimed that France receives half a million immigrants a year. Ce qui est vrai : His calculation adds together data of different kinds: residence permits, asylum applications, regularizations and people in an irregular situation. These figures do not measure only arrivals and can count the same people twice. INSEE records 313,000 immigrant arrivals in 2024. (Les Surligneurs)

Updated: 2026-11-02T09:01+01:00