2027 French presidential election: Karim Bouamrane refuses to back François Hollande without an apology over citizenship stripping

Karim Bouamrane has drawn a line under any possible support for François Hollande in the 2027 presidential election: without a clear apology over citizenship stripping, he will not back him.

The Socialist mayor of Saint-Ouen, who is himself running for president outside the primary organized by the Socialist Party and Place publique, made the comments on Europe 1-CNews. He said he could not support Hollande unless the former president reversed his position clearly on the issue.

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If he is the best person to unite us, I could not support François Hollande unless he clearly reversed his position on citizenship stripping.

Bouamrane called for “an apology, recognizing that he hurt us and a large part of the progressive community.” The demand concerns Hollande’s proposal after the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris to revise the Constitution and extend the loss of French citizenship to dual nationals convicted of terrorism.

The proposal was eventually abandoned, but it triggered an uproar on the French left. It also led to the resignation of Justice Minister Christiane Taubira and deeply fractured the Socialist Party. Bouamrane’s stance places that unresolved dispute at the center of the debate over a possible Hollande candidacy.

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An apology, recognizing that he hurt us and a large part of the progressive community.