The organising commission registered 140,282 participants by midnight on 5 October, surpassing the 127,986 tally recorded earlier that evening.
Voters will choose among Olivier Faure, Raphaël Glucksmann, Ségolène Royal, Jérôme Guedj, and Emmanuel Maurel in the first round.
Debates focused on whether to ally with Jean-Luc Mélenchon's La France Insoumise, with Raphaël Glucksmann and Jérôme Guedj rejecting a joint ticket.
The first round of voting will take place on 9 and 10 October, followed by a potential runoff on 16 and 17 October.
More than 140,000 citizens registered to vote in the French social-democratic primary ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Following the official close of registration at midnight on Monday, 5 October, the organising commission announced a final total of 140,282 registered voters. That figure exceeded the expectations of party organisers, expanding from an interim tally of 127,986 voters recorded at 19:00 on Monday evening. The electorate brings together party members from the Socialist Party, Place publique, and the Gauche républicaine et socialiste, as well as citizens who registered independently through the dedicated choisir2027.fr web platform. Patrick Mennucci, president of the organising commission, pointed to the final enrollment numbers as a crucial basis for post-primary cohesion.
“These tens of thousands of citizens are the guarantee of unity around the winner of this nomination.”
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The voter registration milestone concluded a contentious campaign phase structured around three televised debates between the five official candidates: Olivier Faure, Raphaël Glucksmann, Ségolène Royal, Jérôme Guedj, and Emmanuel Maurel. The final debate was broadcast on Sunday evening on BFMTV, drawing criticism over its adversarial tone. Strategic questions regarding whether the social-democratic bloc should ally with Jean-Luc Mélenchon's La France Insoumise in subsequent legislative elections dominated the proceedings, pushing detailed policy proposals into the background. A voter chosen for a panel during the Sunday broadcast remarked that she felt discouraged and sad, noting that it seemed difficult for any of the contenders to win the presidency.
Tensions surfaced frequently throughout the campaign, particularly between Place publique leader Raphaël Glucksmann and Socialist Party first secretary Olivier Faure. Glucksmann, supported by Socialist deputy Jérôme Guedj, insisted on establishing a clear separation from La France Insoumise, citing the previous alliances of Nupes in 2022 and the New Popular Front in 2024 as flawed strategies. Glucksmann accused Faure of carrying a defeatist attitude and objected to demands from Faure that he describe Israeli military operations in Gaza as genocide. In response, Faure maintained his support for unity across left-wing parliamentary groups, criticizing Glucksmann for fixating on Mélenchon. Following the Sunday debate, Glucksmann acknowledged shortcomings in the candidates' collective performance.
“We were not up to par.”
Addressing supporters in Marseille on Monday, Glucksmann reaffirmed his position, arguing that a coalition of the non-LFI left remains capable of waging what he called the mother of all battles against the National Rally.
The primary now advances to the voting phase, where registered electors will choose the candidate to represent the social-democratic bloc in 2027. The first round of voting will take place on 9 and 10 October across the participating parties and online. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first round, a second round runoff between the two leading candidates will take place on 16 and 17 October. The outcome will determine whether the French social-democratic left pursues an autonomous presidential strategy or seeks broader cooperation across the political spectrum.
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A total of 140,282 voters enrolled for the French social-democratic primary before Monday's midnight deadline, preparing to choose among five candidates over two rounds of voting on 9–10 and 16–17 October.
AI text based on reports by France 24, Le Monde.fr, Le Figaro.fr and other publishers. Changed .