Eduoard Philippe has remained a popular political figure since stepping down as prime minister four years ago
JULIAN DE ROSA
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France’s former prime minister Edouard Philippe announced Tuesday that he would seek the presidency in 2027, further roiling the country’s political waters after the snap parliament elections called by his ex-boss Emmanuel Macron.
Macron has been struggling to find a prime minister since losing a gamble to bolster his centrist party’s relative majority with early elections in July.
The defeat opened an unprecedented political deadlock, with a left-wing alliance now the National Assembly’s largest block in a hung parliament, followed by Macron’s centrists and their allies, and the far right.
As talks continue to end the impasse, Philippe confirmed his widely expected candidacy to succeed Macron, who cannot stand again in 2027 after a two-term limit.
His announcement complicates the calculus for Macron as he seeks a prime minister who could survive any no-confidence votes in the deeply fractured parliament.
“I’m preparing to propose things to the French. What I propose will be massive. The French will decide,” Philippe told Le Point magazine.
Philippe, a right-winger who was Macron’s first prime minister after his 2017 election upended France’s political landscape, has remained a popular figure since resigning in July 2020.
Since then he has formed his own party, Horizons, that has largely supported Macron’s government despite reports that relations between the two men have soured.
“It’s often said that in a presidential election, you have to want nothing else. I agree,” Philippe said in the interview, saying he was ready even if Macron were to surprise the country again by announcing his resignation.
The president is trying to revive negotiations over a new government for France, with the leftist alliance refusing to take part after he rejected its candidate for prime minister.
Macron said Tuesday that he was meeting “anyone who wants to come and work for the overriding national interest” after several rounds of talks over the weekend and Monday failed to produce a breakthrough.
Philippe for his part said he would support “any prime minister picked from a political space ranging from the conservative right to social-democracy”.
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