The former commentator turned politician, Rapha\u00ebl Glucksmann, announced on Sunday evening that he will run in next year’s French presidential election, joining an already crowded field of contenders, including within the left itself.<\/p>\n
At 46, this former essayist and MEP, who heads the centre-left party Place publique, made his bid official in a prime-time interview on the TF1 television channel.<\/p>\n
It was also on TF1 that, on 26 May, the 46-year-old MEP announced that he was giving himself three months “to criss-cross the country”, “to propose a new patriotic contract” and “to reunite his political family” ahead of the presidential election.<\/p>\n
While the announcement comes as no surprise and will not change much in the short term, his decision is expected to have an immediate consequence: Glucksmann’s partner, journalist L\u00e9a Salam\u00e9, a leading figure on rival public channel France 2, is expected to announce that she is stepping back to avoid any conflict of interest during the campaign.<\/p>\n
The leader of France’s far right, Marine Le Pen, sees her best chance yet of capturing the \u00c9lys\u00e9e in 2027 after three failed attempts, but numerous candidates from President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp (he cannot seek another term after two stints in the \u00c9lys\u00e9e), as well as from the left, have already declared their intentions.<\/p>\n
The leader of the radical left, Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon, is also running, for a fourth time, while the head of the Greens, Marine Tondelier, is campaigning in the joint primary despite being pregnant; former Green minister Delphine Batho has announced her candidacy to ward off what she calls a “rikikisation” and a “disappearance” of environmental politics; for their part, the Socialist Party (PS) first secretary Olivier Faure and even, potentially, former Socialist president Fran\u00e7ois Hollande are considering throwing their hats into the ring.<\/p>\n
In June 2026, Le Nouvel Obs counted more than twenty-five candidacies already officially declared or claimed.<\/p>\n
Can “Glucksmania” cross the age barrier?<\/p>\n
Opinion polls put Rapha\u00ebl Glucksmann \u2013 popular among young people, to the point that some speak of a “Glucksmania” \u2013 on 10 to 12% of voting intentions; a respectable score, but probably not enough to reach the second round.<\/p>\n
He can also point to his 13.8% in the last European elections, where he headed a PS-Place Publique list that made him the leading figure on the left.<\/p>\n
In order to avoid an excessive fragmentation of the vote, the Socialist Party and Place publique plan to hold a primary in October to choose a single candidate. The details of this selection process are to be finalised in the coming days and approved by the bodies of both parties next Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Rank-and-file Socialists, consulted in early July, rejected the open primary sought by PS leader Olivier Faure, opting instead for a “closed primary”, reserved for members of the PS, Place publique or a “social-democratic pole”, creating a smaller electorate more favourable to Rapha\u00ebl Glucksmann.<\/p>\n
Although Glucksmann strikes a more reformist and centrist tone than the PS, he has every interest in working with this historic party and drawing on its electoral machine, as he does not have a strong enough structure of his own to support his likely candidacy.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n