Donald Trump's trade war is giving the French left a headache: How can it continue to advocate for protectionism and the end of free trade without being compared to the burdensome American president, whose tariff hikes could trigger a major economic shock and impoverish many countries, including France? This is the balancing act that the French radical left has been attempting in recent days. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of La France Insoumise (LFI), launched the effort to clarify his party's stance: "We have never been advocates of free trade. But we have always believed that it is not possible to use a sledgehammer to implement the necessary protectionism," said the three-time French presidential election candidate on Tuesday, April 8, in a letter published on L'Insoumission, one of the LFI's platforms.

Mélenchon dreams of establishing a form of "solidarity protectionism," making it one of the key proposals in his party's policy platform. LFI, which is working on a plan of 10 to 15 specific measures to respond to the American crisis, wants "neither Trumpism nor Macronism" but aims to "restore the power of the state." How? By implementing "a policy of relocating vital products. For the rest, we make intelligent agreements through bilateral accords," explained LFI's top official, Manuel Bompard. In his view, this bears no resemblance to Trump's "barbaric and savage" brand of protectionism.

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