Veteran leftist Cohn-Bendit endorses Glucksmann for 2027
Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the former Green MEP and a leading figure of the May 1968 student movement, has thrown his support behind Raphaël Glucksmann for France's April-May 2027 presidential election. In an interview with Le Point magazine published Monday, Cohn-Bendit said that "in the reformist left camp, he is the only one to have adopted a position that opens up a future for a social-ecological left. He should be supported, not thwarted."
Cohn-Bendit, a former leader of the May '68 movement who co-chairs the European Parliament's Spinelli Group, argued that Glucksmann is "the only candidate formulating a policy for transforming reformist politics on the left." He urged the focus to remain on Glucksmann's political ideas rather than his charisma, stating, "The aim is to build a project that spans from 2027 through to 2032."
Glucksmann's expected bid and the crowded field
Glucksmann, a 46-year-old MEP and head of the centre-left party Place Publique, has not yet officially declared his candidacy but is expected to confirm his bid by the end of the summer, including whether he will take part in the primaries for the social-democrat camp. Reports indicate he plans to announce his run in the coming days, likely during a prime-time TV interview, according to three anonymous people close to him.
His expected announcement follows his plan to participate in a closed primary being organized by the Socialist Party, which currently includes Ségolène Royal, the 2007 Socialist presidential candidate, and MP Philippe Brun. Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure has also said he is considering running. However, several high-profile Socialists, including former President François Hollande and former Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, have hinted at launching independent bids outside the primary.
The Socialist Party, the main center-left force in France, has been struggling to gain traction with voters and is beset by infighting. Cohn-Bendit dismissed potential bids by Hollande, Royal, and Cazeneuve, calling them "has-beens." The primary is expected to take place in October, with Socialists having recently voted against an open primary to select a single candidate.
Polls, policy, and the challenge from Le Pen
Polls suggest Glucksmann is the best-placed centre-left hopeful after leading the Socialists and their allies to a strong third-place finish in the 2024 European elections. Yet he and the rest of the field lag behind far-right front-runner Marine Le Pen, who is all but guaranteed a spot in the runoff if current polling holds. Glucksmann would need to see off centrist and centre-right rivals like Édouard Philippe and the firebrand anticapitalist Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is running for a fourth time and polls slightly ahead of him.
Glucksmann and Mélenchon differ on key policies, including pension reform—Mélenchon has pledged to lower the retirement age to 60, while Glucksmann favours a system based on life expectancy and individual working conditions—and on NATO, which Mélenchon opposes and Glucksmann supports.
In a statement to TF1, Glucksmann said, "Yes, I am a candidate for the presidential election," adding, "Are we going to hand our country over to the far right? Faced with such a choice, I could not stand aside." He argued, "The left can win the presidential election if it stands firm on its principles" and "We must stop being afraid of Mélenchon."
Glucksmann, a pro-European, pro-Ukraine politician who is critical of some of President Emmanuel Macron's pro-business policies, has positioned himself as a defender of liberal democracy. He previously served as an adviser to Mikheil Saakashvili between 2009 and 2013.
The announcement of Glucksmann's expected run has drawn attention to his personal life: his partner, Léa Salamé, a leading television journalist, has said she will step back from anchoring to avoid any conflict of interest during the campaign. She is expected to be replaced by Jean-Baptiste Marteau, though she has insisted, "I am an independent and honest journalist, a free woman."
The electoral landscape is already crowded, with Le Nouvel Obs counting more than twenty-five officially declared or claimed candidacies as of June 2026.