The fight for the French presidency has begun – in the European Parliament. In part one of a three part series, Euractiv looks at the centrist MEPs shaping the contest
The battle for the Élysée is still nine months away but elements of the campaign are already being plotted on the trains between Strasbourg and Brussels.
As French presidential hopefuls assemble their teams for what could be the most consequential vote in generations, some members of the European Parliament are emerging as key strategists, campaign architects and political combatants in their own right.
On the pro-European right and centre, a crowded field has so far prevented any contender from establishing a decisive lead against the far-right Rassemblement National (RN), which is surging in the polls.
Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe enters the race as the frontrunner for his Horizons party, but continues to wrestle with Macron’s legacy. Gabriel Attal has not (yet) emerged as the undisputed standard-bearer of the post-Macron era despite leading the presidential Renaissance party. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau of Les Républicains is trying to unite a fractured conservative camp behind a more right-wing agenda.
