A clear first-round win

Raphaël Glucksmann won the social-democratic primary held on Sunday, 11 October, by the Socialist Party, Place publique and their allies, taking more than 66% of the vote in the first round. Le Monde reports about 79,000 ballots out of 134,000 registered voters. Socialist leader Olivier Faure came second with 14%, according to Het Parool. Glucksmann, 46, sits in the European Parliament and co-founded the small party Place publique. He celebrated the result at the Cantine de Belleville in Paris, where Deutsche Welle reports party members and sympathisers had gathered.

Raphaël Glucksmann (more than 66%)66%

Olivier Faure14%

Raphaël Glucksmann (more than 66%)

66 %

Olivier Faure

14 %

Data from the article text

A flour attack and a break with Mélenchon

As Glucksmann left the bar on Sunday evening, someone poured flour over his head. Clips of the incident spread quickly online, and Glucksmann suggested that supporters of the more radical Jean-Luc Mélenchon were behind it, Het Parool reports. Deutsche Welle says it is still unclear whether the attacker belonged to Mélenchon's La France insoumise. On Monday morning Glucksmann demanded that Mélenchon condemn any assaults by his supporters. He told France Inter that he is often confronted with aggression but will not be intimidated. Glucksmann has ruled out any cooperation with Mélenchon, which raises the question of how he will win over Mélenchon's voters, according to Deutsche Welle.

Rivals and conditions

Former rivals on the left have been slow to rally. Ségolène Royal, Glucksmann's main opponent in the primary, wrote on X on Monday, 12 October, that she would help the union of the left as promised. In the same post she set a condition:

“If there is a union of the left, I will help as promised. If it drifts toward Macronism, which has put France in financial bankruptcy and governed through fear and brutality, it will be without me.”

After the results Royal congratulated Glucksmann on Franceinfo, adding that 'the trainee has won the primary, unfortunately'. François Hollande, speaking on Monday, 12 October at the centenary of the Union nationale des centres communaux d'action sociale, welcomed the first-round result and urged the left to widen its base:

“It is necessary to widen it to the whole of society. That is the stake in a democracy like ours, where parties have lost much of their strength.”

Hollande said the union cannot be one of the Socialists alone, and he will decide at the end of the year whether he runs for the presidency again.

Platform and polls

Glucksmann is pro-European, supports arms deliveries to Ukraine, and says some immigration is necessary, according to Het Parool. He promises a green 'revolution' and presents himself as a defender of liberal democracy, while criticising the business-friendly policies of President Emmanuel Macron, who cannot seek re-election after two terms. A Toluna Harris Interactive poll published on Monday puts Glucksmann at 10 to 11% depending on the candidate field and Mélenchon at 18%. That survey was taken before the primary, so it does not reflect any boost from the nomination. Het Parool cites polling between 9 and 14% for Glucksmann, with Marine Le Pen above 30%. The first round is on 18 April and the second on 2 May.

Campaign ripples

Valérie Trierweiler, a former partner of François Hollande, posted 'Pensées pour Léa Salamé' on X after the result, and in a second message on Monday she wrote:

“A presidential campaign is a laundry machine. It is violent.”

Léa Salamé, a France 2 presenter and Glucksmann's partner, stepped away from presenting the 20 Heures for the duration of the campaign to avoid conflicts of interest, according to Het Parool. Le Parisien reports that Trierweiler had hoped Glucksmann's defeat would let Salamé return to her anchor chair this autumn, and that this will not happen.