Mélenchon officially designated as La France Insoumise's 2027 candidate
La France Insoumise officially designates Mélenchon as its 2027 presidential candidate.
Event / Politics
Coverage of the 2027 French presidential election campaign, including candidate announcements, policy positions, and political developments across the political spectrum.
2026-08-02 to 2026-10-30 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 28 Mar, 12:07 UTC
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Natacha Polony's campaign platform includes prioritizing French production in public procurement to stimulate economic activity and increase state revenue. She also proposes eliminating all subsidies to companies that are not conditional on production on French soil, as part of her broader 'politics of production' agenda.
With her announcement, Natacha Polony becomes the 34th officially declared candidate for the 2027 French presidential election. However, the requirement for 500 endorsements from eligible elected officials across at least 30 departments will significantly reduce the number of candidates who can actually appear on the ballot.
Natacha Polony launched a political movement in September 2026 with the stated goal of gathering those dissatisfied with current political options. By October 14, she claims the movement has attracted approximately 60,000 members and serves as the basis for her presidential candidacy.
Natacha Polony, a 51-year-old essayist and former director of the weekly magazine Marianne, announced on October 14 on France Inter that she will run as a candidate in the 2027 French presidential election. She stated she is running to unite the "orphans of politics" and to address what she describes as France's loss of rank on economic issues, independence, and sovereignty.
Éric Zemmour indicated that he will announce his candidacy for the French presidency in the near future, now that the presidential campaign is beginning.
Éric Zemmour's Reconquête party is credited with 4 to 5 percent support in current election polling.
Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Rally (RN), has been accused of making antisemitic remarks. Bardella has denied these allegations, but the remarks remain the subject of public and political debate.
Marine Le Pen announced her candidacy for the French presidency on July 7. This announcement marked a significant shift in far-right political positioning and has been the catalyst for subsequent developments within the National Rally party.
Éric Zemmour stated that since Marine Le Pen's candidacy announcement on July 7, Jordan Bardella has been undergoing marginalization within the National Rally party structure.
Éric Zemmour, leader of Reconquête party and competitor to the National Rally on the far-right, stated on RTL radio that he does not truly believe Jordan Bardella's denials regarding the antisemitic remarks attributed to him.
Éric Zemmour stated that Jordan Bardella will not become Prime Minister (Matignon) if Marine Le Pen wins the presidential election, despite claims by the National Rally party that he would hold that position.
Following his primary victory on Sunday evening, October 11, 2026, Raphaël Glucksmann was struck with flour as he exited a bar in the 20th arrondissement of Paris where he was celebrating his win. Video footage showed an unidentified person positioned behind the candidate emptying a packet of flour over his head as he walked toward a taxi. Glucksmann immediately entered the vehicle. This incident follows similar flour-throwing incidents targeting other French political figures including Jordan Bardella (November 2025), François Hollande, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and François Fillon.
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally (Rassemblement national), responded to the flour-throwing incident targeting Raphaël Glucksmann on Sunday evening by posting on X (formerly Twitter) that there is no such thing as minor aggression or insignificant physical assault. Bardella characterized the incident as 'unacceptable violence' despite the non-harmful nature of flour. This statement represents a cross-political response to the protest action.
Raphaël Glucksmann, leader of Place publique and a 46-year-old Member of European Parliament, decisively won the first round of the social-democratic left primary election on Sunday, October 11, 2026. He secured 66.17% of the vote (79,613 votes) out of 120,787 total voters. His nearest competitor, PS First Secretary Olivier Faure, received only 14.46% (17,398 votes). Other candidates Ségolène Royal, Jérôme Guedj, and Emmanuel Maurel each obtained less than 10% of votes. Glucksmann emerged as the official candidate of the social-democratic left for the 2027 presidential election.
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally (RN), appeared on LCI television on October 8 to deny accusations of antisemitism. He stated he never made the offensive statements, refused to characterize them as youthful errors, and described himself as a reasonable person without particular taste for extremism. He claimed he never met antisemitic ideologue Alain Soral.
Jordan Bardella filed a defamation lawsuit against Mediapart and announced preparation of an additional lawsuit for forgery and fraud. He accused the investigation site and its journalists of attempting to politically assassinate him.
Mediapart revealed antisemitic messages dated to 2013 attributed to Jordan Bardella, then 17 years old. The messages were described as unequivocal statements of antisemitic content.
Bardella presented himself as a victim of a destabilization operation, though he excluded the possibility of internal party involvement. He suggested external actors could be responsible and used conspiratorial rhetoric, saying time would reveal the truth. He characterized the entire affair as a distraction from actual campaign issues.
An Ifop poll conducted October 7-8 among 1,000 eligible voters found that 61% were not convinced by Bardella's denials. Additionally, 21% reported a deteriorated image of Bardella due to the accusations, and 74% judged the accusations as grave.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon's campaign features coordinated rallies designed to respond to opponents. A rally is scheduled for Clermont-Ferrand on October 11, 2026, the day after Gabriel Attal holds a rally in Lyon. A major LFI convention will be held at Bourget in Seine-Saint-Denis on November 7, 2026, where the party will unveil its full campaign platform. This convention is strategically timed two weeks after the National Rally's congress in Orléans.
La France Insoumise officially designates Mélenchon as its 2027 presidential candidate.
Attal proposes legislation permitting florists to work on May 1st Labor Day.
Odoxa poll shows approval shifts among French politicians, with left-wing figures maintaining stability.
La France insoumise approves candidate selection with Mélenchon as favored 2027 presidential candidate.
Socialist Party fractures as Cambadélis demands Faure's resignation amid internal leadership dispute.
Roussel positions Communist Party energy crisis platform as alternative to left-wing coalition talks.
Communist Party rejects unified left candidacy, citing LFI tensions and rejecting Mélenchon as candidate.
Left-wing leaders debate primary viability for unified 2027 presidential candidacy.