French Socialist MP announces presidential bid outside of primary

Socialist MP Jérôme Guedj, at the Assemblée Nationale, on January 19, 2026. JULIEN MUGUET FOR LE MONDE

MP Jérôme Guedj became the first Socialist to declare his candidacy for the 2027 French presidential election, announcing a run outside of a left-wing primary on Thursday, February 5. "There is space for a thunderous Socialist" voice, he told radio France Inter.

Guedj said he would refuse to participate in the primary that his party's own leader and the Greens plan to organize on October 11, 2026. Socialist leader Olivier Faure is in favor of the primary and could even run in it, but the party has not yet made an official decision. Guedj called the planned primary "baroque." "What is the policy direction? What is the clarity on values?" he asked.

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