Former French PM Attal launches 2027 presidential bid

Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced on Friday that he would run in the 2027 presidential election.

Because he “deeply loves” France and the French people, the 37-year-old said he had decided to run for president. He made the announcement after an event in the small town of Mur-de-Barrez, in the south of France.

Attal served as Prime Minister from January to September 2024, becoming France’s youngest and first openly gay head of government.

He is now head of the parliamentary group and head of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party.

Attal is widely seen as a younger version of Macron, although he has increasingly distanced himself from the president and openly denounced some of his mentor’s decisions.

In announcing his candidacy, Attal criticized what he described as relentless pessimism towards the French public.

According to him, the French are told “morning, noon and evening” that everything will get worse. “We can lead better lives – if we give ourselves the means to do so,” Attal said.

Attal is not the only former prime minister from the center-right camp to want to succeed Macron.

Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, 55, who was Macron’s first prime minister in 2017, has also declared himself a candidate and is positioning himself as a moderate centrist figure.

Macron cannot run in next year’s elections due to term limits.

Opinion polls show the strongest support for far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her political protégé Jordan Bardella.

However, it remains unclear whether Le Pen will be able to run due to an ongoing trial over alleged misuse of EU funds.