French centre left must wage ‘existential battle’ to prevent far right winning presidency

The European lawmaker Raphaël Glucksmann has urged the French centre left to wage an “existential battle” to prevent Marine Le Pen’s far right winning the 2027 presidential election, after he was chosen as the social democrat candidate for the presidency.

“We’ve got to rid our hearts of the spirit of defeat,” Glucksmann, founder of the small party Place Publique, said on Monday morning after his decisive win in a centre-left primary race held by the Socialist party.