French centrist parties weigh primary to avoid far-right vs. far-left presidential runoff

Centrist parties in France are exploring a unified strategy for the 2027 presidential election, aiming to avoid a potential "absolute nightmare" scenario of a runoff between Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the far-right Rassemblement National candidate.

Representatives from parties allied with President Emmanuel Macron's governments met recently to discuss the formation of a liaison committee. Gabriel Attal, the Renaissance presidential candidate, initiated the move to consolidate discussions among centrist factions. The primary objective is to ensure a single candidate emerges to represent this political bloc.

Key figures present included Franck Riester (Renaissance), Christophe Béchu (Horizons), Hervé Marseille (UDI), Marc Fesneau (MoDem), and Nathalie Delattre (Parti radical). A central point of debate during their second meeting was the possibility of holding a primary election to select their presidential contender. This approach, however, is reportedly not met with unanimous agreement.