France's far-left presidential candidate cheers Gen Z school protests

PARIS -- French far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Sunday celebrated high school students whose protest movement has shaken France as he called at a campaign rally for lowering the voting age to 16 and an end to selective admission to universities.The fiery anti-capitalist Mélenchon also took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump, NATO and the global financial system, in a sweeping speech to thousands of supporters meant to kick his campaign into high gear for next year's two-round election in April and May.Also Sunday, France's Socialist and allied voters chose European Parliament lawmaker Raphaël Glucksmann as their presidential candidate in a primary election marred by a cyberattack and divisions within the mainstream left.President Emmanuel Macron is finishing his second term and cannot run again, so next year’s election will be a turning point for France and Europe. France is the EU’s only nuclear power, its second-biggest economy and a linchpin of the shared euro currency zone.At this stage, polls suggest that Mélenchon and center-right candidate Edouard Philippe are behind far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, but ahead of a range of other hopefuls. It remains t...