Glucksmann wins French centre-left primary with about 66%

European Parliament member Raphael Glucksmann won the French centre-left's presidential primary on October 11. About 66% of voters backed him in the first round, making him its candidate for the 2027 election.

The 46-year-old Place Publique leader secured an outright majority. More than 120,000 people participated, compared with 2.8 million in the 2011 Socialist primary won by Francois Hollande, who subsequently became president.

Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure received about 14.5%. Faure has been open to an alliance with Jean-Luc Melenchon's France Unbowed, while Glucksmann opposes such an arrangement.

After winning, Glucksmann presented himself as an alternative both to Emmanuel Macron's policies and to Melenchon's dominance on the left. His next challenge is to bring together a divided political camp ahead of the presidential campaign.

Glucksmann criticises some of Macron's pro-business policies but shares a pro-European outlook and supports Ukraine. The mainstream-left list he led took about 14% in the 2024 European Parliament election.

Polling cited by Reuters suggests he could reach the presidential runoff but would lose a head-to-head contest with Marine Le Pen. Those findings describe current voting intentions, rather than the outcome of the election itself.