2026 United Left primary
The 2026 United Left primary is a proposed primary election in France scheduled for 11 October 2026, which aims to select a joint candidate for the 2027 French presidential election from L'Après, Les Écologistes and Debout!. The Socialist Party (PS), La France Insoumise and Place Publique will not participate.
History
Origins
The primary was jointly initiated by Marine Tondelier, the national secretary of the Ecologists, Olivier Faure, first secretary of the Socialist Party, Lucie Castets, the New Popular Front's candidate for Prime Minister in 2024, François Ruffin, the national coordinator of Debout!, and Clémentine Autain, one of the co-founders of L'Après, on 15 November 2025.[1]
Participation
This primary is not unanimously supported by the participants of the New Popular Front (the left-wing coalition for the 2024 legislative elections):
- Les Écologistes, L'Après and Debout! have confirmed their participation.[1]
- The PS is divided on the issue of its participation.[2] PS First Secretary Olivier Faure has committed to an internal consultation after the 2026 municipal elections.[3] In February, the president of the Socialist group in the National Assembly, Boris Vallaud, took a stand against the primary.[4]
- The French Communist Party (PCF) will decide on its strategy for the presidential election in July at its congress.[5][6] In February, Léon Deffontaines, spokesperson for the PCF, stated: ‘We are preparing to field our own candidate who will not go through the primary’.[7]
- La France Insoumise and Place Publique announced from the outset that they would not participate.[8]
Procedure
The primary election is scheduled for 11 October 2026 and will be held in person and online.[9] A polling station will be set up in each canton of metropolitan France and in the overseas departments and regions.[10]
To be a candidate, one must obtain 500 signatures from mayors and elected officials (who can sponsor 2 to 3 candidates) ‘as for the presidential election’.[11][12]
Candidates
| Candidate | Party | Political office(s) | Campaign and slogan | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lydie Massard (47) |  |
Breton Democratic Union |
|
 | |
| François Ruffin (50) | .jpg) |
Debout! |
|
 | |
| Marine Tondelier (39) | .jpg) |
Les Écologistes |
|
 | |
Internal Designations
Les Écologistes
On 8 December 2025, members of Les Écologistes (The Ecologists) chose Marine Tondelier, the party's secretary general, to represent them in a left-wing primary.
| Candidates | % |
|---|---|
| Marine Tondelier | 86% |
| Waleed Mouhali | 14% |
Opinion polling
In a poll conducted by Ipsos on 4–5 February 2026, 78% of left-wing supporters were in favour of holding a primary election.[13]
References
- 1 2 "Présidentielle 2027 : la gauche unitaire annonce une primaire pour l'automne 2026 | TF1 Info". www.tf1info.fr (in French). 2025-11-15. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ↑ Pérou, Olivier (18 January 2026). "Présidentielle 2027 : le PS reste très divisé sur l'organisation d'une primaire à gauche". Le Monde. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 10 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ↑ "Présidentielle 2027 : la gauche unitaire, hors LFI-PCF-Place publique, annonce la date de sa primaire". midilibre.fr (in French). Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ↑ Le Monde, AFP (7 February 2026). "Le socialiste Boris Vallaud se positionne contre la primaire à gauche et appelle à une coalition « de Ruffin à Glucksmann » pour la présidentielle de 2027". Le Monde. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 15 February 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ↑ "Union de la gauche, transition écologique, socialisme… Le conseil national du PCF lance les travaux du 40e congrès - L'Humanité". www.humanite.fr (in French). 2026-01-11. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ↑ "Ce qu'il faut savoir sur la primaire de gauche envisagée pour l'élection présidentielle de 2027". Franceinfo (in French). 2026-01-24. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ↑ Pol, Chez (3 February 2026). "Fabien Roussel se prépare pour 2027 sans passer par les «pri-merdes» de la gauche". Libération. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 10 February 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ↑ "Présidentielle 2027: la gauche unitaire annonce une primaire pour l'automne 2026 sans Jean-Luc Mélenchon et Raphaël Glucksmann". BFM (in French). 2025-11-16. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ↑ Hadrien, Valat (16 November 2025). "Présidentielle 2027 : la primaire (d'une partie) de la gauche progresse sous un feu nourri". Les Échos. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 10 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ↑ AFP, Le Monde (24 January 2026). "Présidentielle 2027 : la primaire de la gauche unitaire – hors LFI, Place publique et le PCF – aura lieu le 11 octobre". Le Monde. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 10 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ↑ "Présidentielle 2027 : la primaire de la gauche unitaire se déroulera le 11 octobre prochain - ICI". ICI, le média de la vie locale (in French). 2026-01-24. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ↑ "Présidentielle 2027 : on connaît la date de la primaire de la gauche unitaire | TF1 Info". www.tf1info.fr (in French). 2026-01-24. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ↑ "Les Français majoritairement indifférents à la situation judiciaire de Marine Le Pen | Ipsos". www.ipsos.com (in French). 2026-06-02. Retrieved 2026-03-10.