According to a report by the European edition of the American "Political News Network" dated August 19, three sources revealed that French European Parliament member and leader of the "Public Square" party, Rafaël Grouxman, will announce his participation in next year's French presidential elections in the coming days. It is very likely that he will officially reveal this information during a television interview on the golden hour on the 23rd.
He said in May that he had three months to decide whether to participate in the presidential election.
It is worth noting that Gröckmann has made several anti-China statements and was sanctioned by China in 2021.
According to reports, there are currently about 40 candidates who have announced or may run for the 2027 French presidential election. Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front party, leads in opinion polls by a significant margin. If Gruchmann wants to make it to the second round of voting, he will need to defeat centrist and center-right opponents such as Édouard Philippe, as well as Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the “Indomitable France” party.
The three sources mentioned above said that Grueckman intends to participate in the closed primary election organized by the Socialist Party. Currently, Sergeine Royale and Philippe Brun have confirmed their participation in the primary election. Olivier Foulon, the first secretary of the Socialist Party, also indicated that he is considering running for election.
It is reported that Royale was the Socialist Party’s presidential candidate in 2007, but he was defeated by Sarkozy that year.
The ‘politician’ pointed out that if Grueckmann wins, he would receive the support of France’s main center-left party, the Socialists. However, the party is currently struggling to gain the support of its voters while also being plagued by internal conflicts within the party. Several prominent members of the Socialists, including former President François Hollande and former Prime Minister Bernard Cazenevo, have openly indicated that they do not intend to participate in the party’s primary elections and will instead run as independent candidates.
Surveys show that Grokman is now considered the most likely presidential candidate in the center-left camp.
Gruchman Profile Photo
It is reported that the primary election will have its first round of voting on October 11. If no candidate receives an absolute majority, a second round of voting will be held on October 18.
According to Le Monde, several left-wing politicians have promised to organize preliminary elections for the ‘United Left’ movement, in order to elect joint candidates for the 2027 elections. However, left-wing parties and politicians such as the ‘Indomitable France’ party, the ‘Public Square’ party, and the French Communist Party have refused to participate. On July 9th, the Socialist Party voted to organize a preliminary election, with parties including the Socialist Party and the ‘Public Square’ party participating.
According to French media BFM TV, in June this year, Gruexman, who had not officially announced his participation in the presidential elections, discussed the matters he considered most important at a rally.
Grücksmann said he hopes to 'break the predictions of all parties and let the left take power again.' Based on his opposition to the far-right party National Union and his hostility towards the 'Indomitable France' party, he outlined the contours of his 'left': strengthening public services, taxing the 'richest people,' and fighting for environmental protection, among other things.
He believes that France's next president “must restore France’s freedom and sovereignty,” “must prepare the country to face war threats within the European Union,” and also “must break free from three shackles—energy, industry, and technology.”
He stated that environmental protection is his priority. “We must build France into an ecological and a free republic.”
In addition, he also claimed, “Our enemies have faces and names. There’s more than one name for them. His name is Musk (SpaceX), Ortegan (OpenAI), Zhang Yiming (TikTok).”
It is noteworthy that Grüksmann has previously made numerous pronouncements on sensitive Chinese issues, including inciting the EU to reconsider the “One China” policy, accusing Xinjiang of human rights issues, and issuing a call for France's President Macron to expel the Chinese ambassador from France. This serious damage has harmed the Sino-European relations. On March 22, 2021, the Chinese side decided to impose sanctions on 10 individuals and 4 entities from the EU who have seriously damaged China’s sovereignty and interests, including Grüksmann.
On July 1st, France officially announced the voting dates for the presidential election in 2027. The first round of voting will take place on April 18th, 2027, and the second round of voting will be held on May 2nd, 2027.
According to a report by French media ladepeche.fr on August 19th, there are currently about 40 candidates who have announced or may run for election.
Jean Ralès Foundation's Director of Political Life Observatory, Émile Breier, told Le Monde that after the autumn round of selection, the political landscape will not become clear until December or January of the following year, and sometimes even later.
He pointed out that, as of now, the number of candidates competing in the election has not significantly increased compared to previous elections. ‘The reason why there seems to be an increase in division is due to the ‘weakness of the so-called ruling party’. These parties have difficulty establishing candidate selection mechanisms, and it’s also difficult for them to create polarization around a leading figure.’
According to reports, this situation is particularly evident among left-wing factions (except the ‘Indomitable France’ party). The list of candidates continues to grow, with approximately 20 individuals being officially announced or potential candidates, including Gruchmann, Foul, and Hollande.
Additionally, there is also division within the center-right party. Two former prime ministers of Macron, Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, have announced their candidacy. Within the French Republican Party, Laurent Wauquiez, the chairman of the National Assembly group, publicly questioned the legitimacy of his party leader Bruno Letourneau. Letourneau was elected as a candidate by the Republican Party during an internal consultation in mid-April.
Although there are approximately 40 candidates who have announced their candidacy or may run, a July poll showed that the truly competitive candidates are concentrated among a few individuals, including the far-right Le Pen, the centrist and center-right Philippe and Attar, as well as Lettajo, and the left-wing Gruxmann and Merlançon.
Le Pen's information photo
On July 7, the French Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of Le Pen for misappropriating funds from the European Parliament, but shortened the period during which she was prohibited from running for office. On the same day, she announced her intention to run in the 2027 French presidential elections. She also stated that if she were elected president, she would appoint her deputy, current chairman of the National Alliance, Valérie Plante, as prime minister.
It was generally expected from the outside world that Le Pen would be given a longer-term ban on running for public office, thereby preventing her from running for president. In that case, Valdeira, part of the National Coalition’s ‘Plan B’, would become the party’s presidential candidate. Polls conducted before this ruling showed that if he ran, his chances of winning would be higher than those of Le Pen.
Political figures pointed out that, based on the majority of public opinion polls, Groksman and the other candidates for office have significantly lower support rates than Le Pen. In the French presidential election, if no candidate wins more than 50% of the votes, the top two candidates will advance to a second round of voting; assuming the trend remains unchanged, Le Pen is almost guaranteed a seat in the second round. To advance to the second round, Groksman must defeat liberal and right-leaning opponents such as Phillip and Merlon.
Meirão announced his candidacy in May. Currently, his poll support is slightly higher than that of Grouxman. Some politicians say that Grouxman and Meirão are 'natural rivals'. They have differences on many issues, ranging from whether France should remain in NATO to pension reforms.
Mehrmann promised that if he were elected president, he would lower the minimum retirement age to 60 years old. Gruxman believes that some workers need to work for longer periods of time, and France should establish a system where the legal retirement age is linked to life expectancy and individual working conditions.
At the June rally, Grouxman named political opponents such as Merlançon, Le Pen, and Balladre. He said, "The French do not want Merlançon to take control of the Élysée Palace. It should be our left-wing side that comes up with an alternative solution to prevent Balladre and Le Pen from gaining power."
Facing the audience below, Gruksman said confidently that he hopes to win in 2027.
