Former French prime minister confirms he will run for president
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Edouard Philippe, the former prime minister of France, has said he will stand for president, amid a growing swell of defections to his party from Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance camp.
“I have no problem saying that, in fact, I am preparing,” he said during an interview with France Bleu.
“Why should I be the only one not to prepare? Madame Le Pen, she is preparing. When you think there are important deadlines in your life, we prepare for them.”
Mr Philippe served as prime minister in Mr Macron’s first government between 2017 and 2020, before resigning to become mayor of Le Havre.
The next elections in France are due in 2027 and Mr Macron cannot stand again because of the country’s two-term limit.
Mr Philippe, who founded the centre-Right party Horizons in 2021, has not yet officially declared his candidacy, but MPs from Mr Macron’s Renaissance party have already been defecting to join him, reports Le Figaro.
“I am pleased to announce that Bertrand Bouyx and Pierre Henriet will now be at our side. I’m really very happy about it,” wrote Laurent Marcangeli, Horizons president, in an internal Telegram chat for party members.
Mr Henriet has been vocal about his disapproval of Mr Macron in recent months.
In December, he criticised the president for hosting a candle lighting ceremony at the Elysée palace during Hanukkah, which he said violated France’s secularism laws that call for the separation of church and state.
“I strongly condemn this attempt at religious preference. The Elysée is not a place of worship. France is a secular Republic,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Mr Macron has faced increasing resistance within the ranks of his Renaissance party, particularly during the vote on the contentious immigration bill.
Horizons has also gained a new member former of Right-wing party Les Républicains this week.
Chriselle Morançais announced that she had joined Horizons because she believed in Mr Philippe as a leader, describing him as a man who loves France and “who believes in the power and nobility of politics.”
Mr Philippe has been open about his presidential ambitions before, telling France Bleu in January: “A lot of people think 2027 is a long way off. But I learned that when you are preparing something difficult, you have to prepare yourself for it. This is what I’m doing, in a relaxed but serious way.”
In the latest poll conducted for Le Figaro published on Thursday, Mr Philippe was seen as the best presidential candidate for the majority party, garnering 49 per cent of the vote.
But not far behind him is Gabriel Attal, the current prime minister, with 44 per cent. He has made major gains since last year.
French pundits speculate that Mr Philippe’s increased visits to regions across the country and media interviews are an offensive tactic aimed at widening the narrowing distance in opinion polls between him and Mr Attal.
Rounding out the top five spots are Bruno Le Maire, the finance minister, Gérald Darmanin, the interior minister, and François Bayou, president of the centrist party Mouvement Démocrate.
In December, Mr Darmanin said he no longer had any presidential ambitions and instead threw his support behind Mr Philippe. He said he is the best person to face Marine Le Pen in 2027.
Another poll from last week also found that Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-Right party the National Rally, would win the presidential election if she ran against Mr Attal.
But the survey also found that the race would be neck and neck were she to face off against Mr Philippe.
