Glucksmann draws 4,000 to Aubervilliers rally as new poll shows him tied with Mélenchon for third place
Raphaël Glucksmann gathered thousands at a pre-campaign rally in Aubervilliers on Saturday, as a fresh Opinionway poll puts him neck and neck with Jean-Luc Mélenchon behind the Rassemblement National and centrist frontrunners.
A rally without a formal candidacy
Raphaël Glucksmann, the co-founder of Place publique, held his first major meeting in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis) on 13 June 2026, drawing between 3,000 and 4,000 people, according to his team. The MEP has not yet formally declared his candidacy for the 2027 presidential election, having said on 26 May that he would take three months to decide. The rally had all the trappings of a campaign launch, with supporters chanting “Raphaël président!”, but the candidate is waiting until the autumn to make his move official.
Ce n'est pas un aveu de faiblesse, mais un aveu de respect pour les autres partis politiques et pour les Français. On veut les convaincre sans les prendre pour des idiots.
Attacking rivals and laying out themes
Glucksmann aimed to present a social-democratic, pro-European alternative, explicitly rejecting both Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the Macron-era central bloc. He told the crowd that the RN has not yet triumphed and that the French do not want Mélenchon at the Élysée. He promised to make "ecological liberation" of France the absolute priority and to wage a "great anti-capitalist fight" for digital sovereignty, naming Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Zhang Yiming as enemies.
Notre ennemi a un visage. Et il a un nom. Il en a même plusieurs. Il s'appelle Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Zhang Yiming.
The polling landscape
Ahead of the rally, an Opinionway poll for Le Journal du Dimanche tested several first-round scenarios. In all of them the Rassemblement National candidate (Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella) leads with 33–35 %, while Édouard Philippe stands at 19 % as the centrist option. Glucksmann and Mélenchon are virtually tied: in one scenario both get 13 %, in another Glucksmann scores 14 % to Mélenchon’s 13 %, and in a third they each reach 16 % when communist Fabien Roussel and ecologist Marine Tondelier are excluded.
- RN (Le Pen/Bardella)
- 33 %
- Édouard Philippe
- 19 %
- Raphaël Glucksmann
- 13 %
- Jean-Luc Mélenchon
- 13 %
The path to a united left
Glucksmann needs partners, especially the Socialists and ecologists, but he has rejected the primary proposed by PS First Secretary Olivier Faure. His three-month delay is also a call for other left-wing forces to rally behind him. Among the notable figures present at the rally was former macronist deputy Sacha Houlié.
Dans notre espace politique, personne ne pourra faire mieux.
A long build-up
Glucksmann’s meeting came a week after Mélenchon gathered 26,000 people in Saint-Denis. The timeline of the nascent left-wing contest is being sketched step by step: the three-month pause, the rival rallies, and the upcoming court ruling in the RN’s parliamentary assistants affair, which Opinionway factored into its polling.
- Glucksmann says he will decide on his presidential bid within three months.
- Mélenchon holds a rally in Saint-Denis, claiming 26,000 attendees.
- Glucksmann draws 3,000–4,000 to his first major meeting in Aubervilliers.
