French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann wins centre-left presidential primary with 66% of the vote

From the Newshound archive · first published 11 October 2026 · last updated 12 October 2026.

Raphaël Glucksmann, 46, crushed his rivals in the first round of France's centre-left presidential primary on Sunday, taking 66% of more than 120,000 votes cast to become the bloc's candidate for next year's election. Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure finished a distant second with just 14%, while former presidential candidate Ségolène Royal came third with under 8%. Glucksmann immediately vowed to unite the fractured left against Marine Le Pen, ruling out any alliance with hard-left veteran Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Turnout of 86% was hailed as a success, though still tiny compared to the 2.8 million who voted in the Socialists' 2011 primary won by eventual president François Hollande.

Despite the landslide, polls put Glucksmann at just 9-14%, well behind Le Pen and centre-right contender Édouard Philippe.

Glucksmann declared he would 'prevent the Trumpists, the coup plotters, the xenophobes and the demagogues from seizing control of the Republic.'