Attal proposes a 'primary of democrats' to block a LFI-RN runoff in 2027

A primary to block a LFI-RN runoff

Gabriel Attal, the Renaissance candidate, proposed on Wednesday evening, 28 October, a "grande primaire des démocrates" ahead of the presidential election. He made the call on TF1's 20 Heures news programme, saying the goal was to prevent a second round between Jean-Luc Mélenchon's La France insoumise (LFI) and Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement national (RN). Attal trails Édouard Philippe in the polls, and after months of saying he was not opposed in principle to a primary, he has now put a concrete proposal on the table. Asked about Philippe, he said those who stay out of this gathering will bear part of the responsibility for the division. The presidential vote is set for 18 April and 2 May.

“It is time for all of us to be responsible and to organise the gathering that millions of French people aspire to through a great primary.”

Allies of Philippe and Retailleau push back

Horizons, the party of Édouard Philippe, reacted coolly. Laurent Marcangeli, head of the Horizons group in the National Assembly, wrote on X that the idea was muddled, would not prevent a RN-LFI runoff, and left open whether losers would back the winner. Bruno Retailleau's entourage told AFP the project was stillborn because it does not clearly define the primary's scope and does not exclude Raphaël Glucksmann, the candidate chosen by the left's primary. The same source suggested Attal could have called it a primary of the common platform. Maud Bregeon, the government spokesperson who backs Philippe, told BFMTV and RMC on Thursday that she had not fully understood the proposal and wants an alliance limited to the right and centre.

“In this period of great tension we are living through, the time is for clarification, not confusion.”

David Lisnard, candidate of Nouvelle Énergie (NE), welcomed progress on an open primary he has proposed for two years. He said opponents must offer a valid argument and warned that it would soon be too late.

Villepin declines and doubts spread in the centre

Dominique de Villepin, the former Chirac-era prime minister who is preparing his own presidential bid, has refused to take part. His entourage told AFP on Thursday, 29 October, that Attal's team had approached them on Wednesday, before the TF1 appeal, and that they had politely turned the team away. Villepin's camp read the offer as an admission of failure by Attal, who is stuck in the polls, and said simply opposing Le Pen and Mélenchon does not amount to a recovery plan for the country.

A Cluster 17 poll for Politico, published on Monday, 26 October, put Mélenchon on 18.5% of voting intentions, ahead of Philippe on 16%, down 3 points since September, and Raphaël Glucksmann on 13%. Attal, tested as the sole macronist candidate, would take 12%, down 1 point.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon18.5%

Édouard Philippe16%

Raphaël Glucksmann13%

Jean-Luc Mélenchon

18.5 %

Édouard Philippe

16 %

Raphaël Glucksmann

13 %

Data from the article text

Erwan Balanant, a MoDem deputy, called for another candidate who has not held power in the past ten years and who could bring together a broad spectrum. Perrine Goulet, a centrist elected official from Nièvre, urged setting egos aside to find a figure able to lead a government of union. Ludovic Mendes, a Macronist elected official, said the campaign was not catching on with militants and described the division as deadly.

“Neither of the two will be able to emerge, we need to move on to something else.”