Raphaël Glucksmann, a centre-left member of the European Parliament, formally announced his candidacy for the French presidency on Sunday, saying his goal was to "rebuild" France. He becomes the latest name on an already long list of contenders hoping to succeed President Emmanuel Macron.
With fewer than eight months left before the first round of voting, the 46-year-old essayist entered the race hoping to unite the social democratic camp against the radical left and the far right, as polls narrow.
Glucksmann is the son of the philosopher André Glucksmann and is known for his hardline stance against the Russia of President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to the French broadcaster TF1, Glucksmann said he was standing as a candidate to rebuild France, adding that everyone felt a knot in their stomach when they thought about what could happen to the country in the months ahead.
October Primary
Glucksmann will take part in a primary in October organised jointly by the Socialist Party (PS) and his own party, Place publique, aimed at producing a single social democratic candidate for the presidency.
Several senior Socialist figures have already said they intend to take part, pending a possible bid by the PS first secretary, Olivier Faure.
Where Glucksmann Stands in the Polls
Glucksmann won 13.8 percent of the vote in the last European Parliament elections and is still relatively new to national politics. He stepped up his tours around France over the summer.
He is currently credited with 10 to 11 percent of voting intentions, which appears to put him ahead of others in the social democratic space, though he still trails Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the radical-left France Unbowed (LFI), who polls at 15 percent.
Policy Platform
Reaffirming his opposition to LFI, Glucksmann reached out to the Greens, saying they had been right about the climate disaster the country is experiencing, and to the Communists, with whom he said he shared a common goal of "reindustrialising" France.
He said his platform would include raising workers' net income by cutting payroll deductions, a policy he said would be financed by taxing what he called "very large fortunes", the wealthiest one percent.
Criticism Over Elitism and Centrism
Glucksmann, who takes a pro-EU line, has been accused by some on the left of shifting toward the political centre, an accusation he denies. He has also been criticised for an elitist image seen as out of touch with the concerns of ordinary French voters, having gained his first political experience in Georgia alongside the former Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili.
One consequence of his candidacy was the withdrawal of his partner, Léa Salamé, from presenting the evening news bulletin on France 2.
A Crowded Field to Succeed Macron
Because Macron cannot seek re-election after ten years in power, the list of declared and potential candidates to replace him keeps growing.
Ahead of the first round on 18 April, polls put Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), in front. She formalised her candidacy in early July. Le Pen was convicted by an appeals court of misusing European Union funds, but a reduction in the sentence that had barred her from seeking public office allowed her to stand as a candidate.
The centre is so far represented, as far as is known, by two former prime ministers under Macron, Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, while the traditional right is represented by the former interior minister Bruno Retailleau, who has already been officially designated as the candidate of his party, the Republicans (LR).
