Some of France's Rich Are Considering Exile If Melenchon Wins
- The Hugo Chavez fan wants to cap executive pay, raise taxes
- Far-right Le Pen and far-left Melenchon together poll at 40%
France's Melenchon Holds Virtual Rallies
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At the elegant Bistro Volnay, a diamond’s throw away from Place Vendome’s jewellers, Communist-backed presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon dominates conversations of wealthy Parisians as they dig into their sautéed terrine of pig’s trotter and calf sweetbread.
Some of the restaurant’s clientele is considering exile if Melenchon, a declared fan of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, wins the presidency -- just like the prospect of Socialist Francois Mitterrand’s win in 1981 prompted many millionaires to abandon their country amid talk, partly in jest, of Soviet tanks rumbling down the Champs-Elysees.