Candidates struggle to secure mandatory 500 endorsements for ballot entry
Presidential candidates struggle to secure the 500 endorsements required for 2027 ballot entry despite active campaigning.
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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In July 2026, the Russian group Storm-1516 targeted another 2027 French presidential candidate, Édouard Philippe, with false information about his health circulated through social media posts.
The Russian military intelligence group Storm-1516 (GRU) conducted a disinformation operation targeting Raphaël Glucksmann, a probable 2027 French presidential candidate. The operation used deepfake technology to create fake videos involving Glucksmann's partner journalist Léa Salamé and journalist Edwy Plenel, distributed through a fabricated media outlet mimicking the online news site Blast. The attack was detected in late August 2026 and had relatively low visibility on social networks.
Russian intelligence used artificial intelligence technology to reproduce the voice and identity of journalist Edwy Plenel in a deepfake video as part of the disinformation operation against Glucksmann. Plenel had previously warned publicly about the false information on social media platform X.
Despite lacking parliamentary majority and pre-election context making the outcome uncertain, Prime Minister Lecornu reiterated the government's intention to adopt a budget in winter to avoid hindering the future president elected in May 2027. He warned that candidates attempting to block budget adoption in autumn would bear responsibility for undermining their own first year of presidency.
Prime Minister Lecornu proposed creating a budget bonus-malus system between government ministries to incentivize investment in digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
Prime Minister Lecornu proposed redistributing a demographic dividend across territories and creating multi-year school maps to account for France's declining birth rate and falling enrollment numbers in schools.
Prime Minister Lecornu proposed decreasing reimbursement for medicines providing only weak therapeutic benefit. He also proposed asking higher-volume medicine users (over 50 boxes annually) and frequent medical visitors (over 25 visits yearly) to contribute more, while protecting vulnerable populations. Hospital rates and medical consultation reimbursements would be preserved.
Prime Minister Lecornu stated he is not optimistic about achieving deficit reduction objectives for 2026 and 2027. The government targets a deficit of 5% of GDP in 2026, down from 5.1% in 2025. He cited the war in Iran and its energy price consequences, along with increased military costs in the Gulf, as factors making targets difficult to achieve.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu stated in an interview published July 22, 2026, that the government cannot suspend all decisions, particularly budgetary ones, until the 2027 presidential election. He emphasized the need for honest budget direction while accepting that French voters could change course, framing it as a matter of democracy rather than indefinite delay.
Prime Minister Lecornu outlined fiscal policy priorities for the finance bill, advocating for fiscal stability with neither tax increases nor creation of new taxes. He did not exclude examining the effectiveness of certain tax deductions and combating fraud as part of the budget strategy.
Prime Minister Lecornu proposed modifying the FCTVA (TVA compensation fund for local authorities) to prioritize spending on climate change adaptation, rewarding municipalities for climate-related expenditures.
Les Écologistes propose a "green and fair fiscal policy" including a climate-based wealth tax (ISF climatique), green VAT (TVA verte), and transportation tax reforms. The reforms would increase aircraft ticket prices while reducing railway costs as part of their vision to exit capitalism and promote ecological prosperity.
Les Écologistes activists obtained in early July the endorsement in principle for an autonomous presidential candidacy in 2027, allowing the party to run independently rather than as part of a broader left-wing coalition.
Les Écologistes, led by Marine Tondelier, unveiled their platform for the 2027 French presidential campaign on Monday, centered on institutional renewal and ecological prosperity. The party proposes creating a "First Ecological and Citizen Republic" with constitutional reforms to end presidentialism, strengthen judicial independence, and integrate essential elements for shared life into the constitution.
Marine Tondelier proposed on Friday to convene the federal council of Les Écologistes to discuss campaign strategy following the Socialist Party's decision to abandon the idea of a unified left-wing primary excluding La France Insoumise. The proposal came after the PS vote on candidate selection methods.
Les Écologistes propose creating an integrated military council attached to the European Council as part of their federalist European tradition, reflecting their commitment to European institutional integration.
Ségolène Royal announced she will enter the race for the French presidential election in the autumn as a Socialist Party candidate.
Right-wing political figures Édouard Philippe, Gabriel Attal, and Bruno Retailleau are preparing to run for the presidential election.
Marine Le Pen of the National Rally is actively campaigning as a presidential candidate following the lifting of legal restrictions on her candidacy.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise, is actively campaigning as a presidential candidate.
Presidential candidates struggle to secure the 500 endorsements required for 2027 ballot entry despite active campaigning.
Mélenchon secures 360,000 citizen endorsements while pursuing 500 required elected official signatures for 2027 candidacy.
Journalist Polony enters politics, leaves open 2027 presidential candidacy while proposing economic intervention measures.
National Rally elevates headscarf ban to core 2027 campaign policy with claimed majority support.
Greens pursue autonomous candidacy while internally debating coalition participation.
French authorities opened investigation into Russian disinformation campaign targeting Attal with coordinated fake content.
Russian disinformation uses AI-cloned voices to target French presidential candidates with deepfakes.
French government proceeds with pre-election budget adoption, doubts deficit targets, proposes spending cuts over tax increases.
Tondelier proposes federal council meeting to coordinate fragmented left-wing parties ahead of 2027 election.
French Greens approve autonomous 2027 candidacy with climate fiscal reforms and European military proposals.
Major candidates finalize 2027 positioning as Socialist primary begins and far-right leadership stabilizes.
Royal launches Socialist primary bid as party restricts membership participation amid left-wing candidate fragmentation.