Former French prime minister Gabriel Attal announced on Friday that he will run in the 2027 presidential election.
Because he “profoundly loves” France and the French people, the 37-year-old said he had decided to seek the presidency. He made the announcement after an event in the small southern French town of Mur-de-Barrez.
Attal served as prime minister from January to September 2024, becoming France’s youngest-ever and first openly gay head of government.
He is now leader of the parliamentary group and party chief of President Emmanuel Macron’s party, Renaissance.
Attal is widely seen as a younger version of Macron, although he has increasingly distanced himself from the president and openly denounced some of his mentor’s decisions.
Announcing his candidacy, Attal criticized what he described as relentless pessimism directed at the French public.
He said that the French are told “morning, noon and night” that everything is set to get worse. “We can lead better lives – provided we give ourselves the means to do so,” said Attal.
Attal is not the only former prime minister from the centre-right camp seeking to succeed Macron.
Former premier Édouard Philippe, 55, who was Macron’s first prime minister in 2017, has also declared his candidacy and is positioning himself as a moderate centrist figure.
Macron cannot run again in next year’s election because of term limits.
Opinion polls show the strongest support for far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her political protégé Jordan Bardella.
However, it remains unclear whether Le Pen will be able to run due to an ongoing court case over the alleged misuse of EU funds.