Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has signaled that he is close to entering the 2027 presidential race, while Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure is preparing to join his party's primary process.
De Villepin, a conservative who served as prime minister under President Jacques Chirac and now leads the La France Humaniste party, stated on Sunday that he would formally confirm his candidacy "once the election campaign has begun." Speaking to BFM TV, he focused much of his political criticism on Édouard Philippe, the leader of the Horizons party and an declared presidential candidate. De Villepin argued that Philippe is "playing into the hands" of far-right leader Marine Le Pen by engaging in "one-upmanship" with his proposals to restrict immigration to Mayotte.
Philippe was hosted in Tourcoing on Sunday by Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin for a political rally of his Populaires movement. In mid-August, Darmanin officially declared his support for Philippe, referring to him as his "friend of twenty years."
On the left, Olivier Faure, the first secretary of the Socialist Party, is expected to announce his participation in the social-democratic primary. Faure informed lawmakers from his political group of his decision via a message sent overnight between Saturday and Sunday. His main primary rival, Raphaël Glucksmann, took the opportunity during an interview with France 2 and France Inter to criticize Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of France Unbowed. Glucksmann claimed Mélenchon had "gone beyond all acceptable limits" and declared that "the democratic left" must "show that it is capable of breaking with those who sow chaos."
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who represents President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Renaissance party, commented on Sunday that he had "never ruled out a primary." Attal's remarks follow a joint column published in Le Figaro on Wednesday, signed by more than 200 elected politicians, calling for a unified primary of the centrist and right-wing bloc to field a single candidate capable of defeating both the far-left and far-right.
