Jean Luc Mélenchon was quick to seize the moment after early polling indications for France’s parliamentary elections showed the leftist New People’s Front was headed for what Bloomberg described as a shock victory.

Before the other leaders of the alliance – which includes his own far-left France Untouchable, the Socialists and the Greens – could say a word, Mélenchon took centre stage at a rally of supporters, demanding to be invited to govern the country. He also said the New People’s Front (NFP) would not accept “combinations” and would refuse to negotiate with other groups.

“The NFP will implement its programme,” Melenson told his supporters on Sunday. “Nothing but its program. All his program.”