French centrists struggle to find unity candidate as extremes surge in polls

Paris — Centrist presidential candidates Gabriel Attal and Edouard Philippe are meeting on Wednesday to decide who will best challenge Marine Le Pen in the upcoming 2027 French presidential election. However, finding a compromise that could prevent the political center from being eclipsed by the extremes appears unlikely. Both candidates, former prime ministers of Emmanuel Macron, are concerned that their ongoing conflict will weaken the centrist camp's prospects.

Without a robust centrist candidate, their worry is that the election could devolve into a battle between two anti-NATO euroskeptics—Le Pen on the far right and Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the far left—who could pose a threat to financial markets. To win, a candidate must secure over 50% of the vote, and a runoff election is held if no one achieves that threshold.

Le Pen is expected to win one of the spots based on her polling numbers, while Mélenchon's early campaign success means he could also earn a place in the second round. Despite the urgency to oppose Le Pen, centrist candidates seem reluctant to resolve their disputes. Attal, who is currently trailing Philippe in polls, has recently attempted to portray Philippe as outdated.

Philippe countered that centrist candidates should criticize the extremes. Attal's campaign director, Franck Riester, said a resolution might not be reached until February, and Philippe believes a clear winner won't emerge until next year. The latest meeting, aimed at discussing campaign strategies and maintaining unity, will mainly serve as a forum for airing grievances, according to Riester.

He stated that they will continue to deliberate on campaign approaches, methods to avoid damaging each other, and establish a code of conduct. Philippe's campaign began arranging these meetings in the spring, following Philippe's campaign launch but before Attal's entry, to ensure the centrist alliance remained intact. However, disagreements over selecting a single champion have disrupted these discussions.

A Philippe party lawmaker admitted that the meeting would not result in a breakthrough. The internal competition between Philippe and Attal, who hold similar ideological views, could ultimately undermine the centrist bloc, which already faces challenges due to voter dissatisfaction with Macron's presidency. The former minister argued that the winner might rule over a "wasteland."

Philippe supporters hope for an alliance with the conservative Les Républicains party, but such a partnership seems improbable. Bruno Retailleau, Les Républicains candidate, is trailing behind Attal and Philippe in polls, and has not even been granted an invitation to the meeting.