The Front de Gauche (Left Front), an electoral coalition on the left, made a strong showing in the French Presidential election first round on Sunday 22 April. It secured 11.1 per cent of the vote, with more than 3.9 million votes. Its candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, led a dynamic campaign which drew large enthusiastic crowds to its rallies. He issued the following statement (on 23 April) following the announcement of the results.