Philippe rules out centre-right primary ahead of French presidential election
French presidential candidate Édouard Philippe said on Sunday he will not take part in a primary to pick a single right-wing candidate. He argues it would cause division and confusion.
Édouard Philippe, a candidate in France's presidential election, on Sunday rejected the idea of joining a primary in which right-wing forces would choose one shared candidate to take on the far right and far left. Philippe served as prime minister under President Emmanuel Macron from 2017 to 2020 and is now the candidate of the centre-right Horizons party. He is polling better than his centre-right rivals.
Speaking on the evening news programme of the TF1 television channel, Philippe said he did not believe such a primary would take place. In his view, it would only bring "division" and "confusion". He urged the various candidates to live up to their "responsibilities" and settle on their approach by February. This appeared to hint that candidates polling poorly should withdraw, improving the chances of the stronger centre-right contenders.
The primary idea was put forward last week by Gabriel Attal, a rival on the centre-right who also served as prime minister under Macron.
State of the polls
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, currently tops the polls. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the veteran hard-left leader of the France Unbowed party, is also performing strongly.
The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for April 18. The second-round run-off between the two strongest candidates will take place on May 2.
