French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann announces presidential bid, rules out alliance with Mélenchon

· Politics FRA
Part of French Presidential Election

French centre-left politician Raphaël Glucksmann has formally declared his candidacy for the 2027 French presidential election, confirming his intention to contest the Socialist Party primary this autumn.

Glucksmann, the 46-year-old leader of the centre-left Place Publique party and a member of the European Parliament, announced his bid on TF1's evening news bulletin. He stated that he would never form an alliance with Jean-Luc Mélenchon's France Unbowed movement should he win the primary. His candidacy will require his partner, journalist Léa Salamé, to step down from anchoring France 2's flagship news programme to avoid conflicts of interest.

Glucksmann enters a race in which Marine Le Pen currently leads first-round polling, with Mélenchon and Édouard Philippe already declared. Opinion polls credit Glucksmann with roughly 10–12% of voting intentions, while he secured 13.8% in the last European elections. The first round is scheduled for April 18, with President Emmanuel Macron ineligible to seek another term.

Related stories

French justice minister Darmanin backs Philippe for 2027 presidential race, rules out own bid French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has ruled out running in the 2027 presidential election and thrown his support behind former Prime Minister Édouard Phil… Paris prosecutors open probe into suspected Russian interference targeting Glucksmann The Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation on 6 August into suspected Russian interference against Raphaël Glucksmann, following his claims of a dest… Mélenchon launches presidential push with ecological conscription plan and budget veto threat Jean-Luc Mélenchon opened his presidential campaign on Sunday, proposing a "conscription écologique" and vowing to censor the government's 2027 budget in a spee… French presidential hopeful Philippe proposes migrant detention centre in East Africa French presidential candidate Édouard Philippe has proposed establishing a detention and return centre in East Africa to process irregular migrants overwhelming… Le Pen announces joint 2027 presidential ticket with Bardella despite legal ban Marine Le Pen has announced she will run alongside Jordan Bardella in France's 2027 presidential election, attempting to leverage his popularity to secure the É… Marine Le Pen cleared to run in 2027 French presidential election after appeal court reduces sentence Marine Le Pen announced she will run in France's 2027 presidential election after a Paris appeals court reduced her ban on holding public office to 15 months, a…