Former French Prime Minister Enters Presidential Race

Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has officially declared his candidacy for the 2027 presidential election. The leader of the Renaissance party made the announcement during a visit to the small village of Mur-de-Barrez in the Aveyron department, where he sought to emphasize his distance from Emmanuel Macron's legacy and appeal to voters outside the major cities.

The 37-year-old spoke after a civic debate with around 100 local residents. "I decided to run for president of the republic because I deeply love France and the French people", Attal declared in front of a large French flag.

The choice of location was deliberate. Attal's team wanted to signal that the candidate was reaching out to what the French call "la France profonde" — provincial, small-town France. The move draws a conscious parallel with Jacques Chirac's 1995 presidential campaign.

Attal faces competition from former prime minister Edouard Philippe, widely regarded as the frontrunner among centrist and center-right voters. Those close to Attal have drawn comparisons with the 1995 Chirac-Balladur contest, casting Attal as the outsider challenging an established favorite.

During a two-day visit to Aveyron, Attal held a series of media appearances and meetings with local stakeholders. His team documented the trip extensively on social media, with dozens of journalists in attendance.

The former prime minister has been increasingly profiling himself in recent months and has sought to differentiate himself from Emmanuel Macron in terms of content. He has put forward a number of controversial proposals, including a debate on surrogacy, changes to labour law and questioning the supremacy of international law. Critics accuse him of opportunism and of adapting too much to public sentiment.

(lemonde, bak)