PARIS — The leader of the French conservatives, Bruno Retailleau, announced Thursday that he will run in next year’s presidential election as campaign season gets underway particularly early.
The former interior minister joins what is expected to be a crowded field to replace President Emmanuel Macron, who cannot run because of term limits.
The far-right National Rally is currently ahead in the polls, though whether the party will be represented by the up-and-coming Jordan Bardella or longtime leader Marine Le Pen cannot be decided until after July 7, when a verdict will be rendered on Le Pen’s appeal of the five-year election ban she was handed after being convicted of embezzlement.
After spending most of his political career in relative anonymity, the 65-year-old Retailleau burst onto the scene two years ago after being named interior minister by former Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
Retailleau’s political savvy and hard-line, unapologetic stance on hot-button issues such as immigration electrified supporters of his seemingly moribund political party, Les Républicains, and prompted speculation that he could parlay his high-profile ministerial role into a presidential campaign.
But Retailleau’s role in bringing down Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s first government after just 14 hours — the then-minister argued it included too many people close to Macron — has cost him political capital.
The conservative leader exited government after the debacle and has since appeared to lose momentum, struggling to make headlines. Retailleau’s favorability ratings dropped 11 percentage points from 35 percent last March to 24 percent just before the new year, according to a poll from the firm Elabe.
A November survey on the presidential election conducted by reputable pollster Odoxa showed Retailleau finishing fifth in the first round of the contest with 8 to 10 percent of the projected vote.
Retailleau joins former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Greens leader Marine Tondelier and Socialist MP Jérôme Guedj among politicians who have formally declared their intentions for the 2027 election.
They’re expected to be joined in the coming months by former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, center-left MEP Raphaël Glucksmann and three-time hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has said he is also considering entering the race.
Retailleau is expected to face some competition from within his own party as well.
Michel Barnier, the former prime minister and Brexit negotiator; Xavier Bertrand, the president of the northern French region of Hauts-de-France; and Laurent Wauquiez, the conservative lawmaker Retailleau handily defeated in last year’s race to lead Les Républicains, have all publicly mapped out plans to run.
The party has not said whether it will hold a primary election to choose a candidate, as it did during the last presidential election. Retailleau has publicly pushed back against calls to hold a primary featuring candidates from the center-right to the far-right of France’s political spectrum.
French conservative leader Retailleau announces presidential run
Source: Viral Showbiz Pinay
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