Politicians and parties across the spectrum are gearing up for the 2027 presidential election campaign in France.
The election is set to be held in April over two rounds and current President Emmanuel Macron is exempt from running for a third consecutive term, meaning France is guaranteed a new head of state.
Karim Bouamrane, Socialist mayor of Saint-Ouen (a Parisian suburb) is the latest to officially announce his candidacy, bringing the total number of confirmed candidates to 18.
This includes former prime ministers Gabriel Attal and Edouard Philippe, former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and Socialist Party member Jérôme Guedj.
The graphic below shows all those who have officially confirmed their candidacy, those expected to, and other possible candidates, alongside their political affiliation.
How many candidates will make the first round?
Despite the high number of candidates officially announcing a candidacy – and those yet to do so – this number will be whittled down before major campaigning begins.
The first set of culls will come from inside parties, for example as the Socialists decide on a single candidate to represent their party.
It currently has several politicians who have announced a candidacy, but they are likely to go into primaries alongside other party candidates, with members deciding who should represent the party.
The right-wing Les Républicains have already decided on Bruno Retailleau.
As a reminder, the presidential election operates on a two-round system.
If no candidate receives a plurality of the vote (50%) in the first round, a run-off between the top two candidates is held.
This in theory allows for candidates of all stripes to run in the first round, provided they receive the required 500 mayoral signatures backing them.
However, cross-party alliances are possible and increasingly popular, particularly between broad factions of all political persuasions, as they increase the chances of a candidate palatable to several groups making it through to the second round.
The Socialists, Greens, and Communists performed well in the March 2026 mayoral elections after forming an alliance, and may do so again for the presidential election by uniting behind a single candidate.
Previous alliances between the three parties and the far-left La France Insoumise – excluded for being perceived as too radical – have always broken down, and are unlikely to be forged for the first round of the campaign.
Indeed, several former La France Insoumise members have formed their own parties and intend to run in 2027 (although they will likely drop out of the race or support another candidate in order not to split the vote).
In the centre, Edouard Philippe has performed well in recent polls, and in some circles is seen as the second most popular candidate behind the Rassemblement National candidate (both Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella top polls).
A generally popular prime minister, he is leaning into his right-wing credentials in a bid to gain votes from these voters, while remaining acceptable to the centre and some centre-left groups.
Gabriel Attal is also popular, and it remains to be seen whether the two will coalesce their campaigns to prevent the risk of vote splitting.
On the right, Les Républicains are expected to run their own candidate and not enter any alliance.
Far-right groups such as Eric Ciotti’s Union des droites pour la République are likely to back the Rassemblement National.
However, others including Reconquête and Débout La France are likely to run their own candidates, at least for the first round, and then back the Rassemblement National in the second (if they make it through as expected).
Fringe and extremist groups on the far-right and far-left run their own candidates but struggle to attain more than around 1% of the vote.
