Socialist Party picks closed primary, burying Faure's left unity project for 2027 presidential race

French Socialist Party members voted Thursday evening to hold a closed primary for the 2027 presidential election, rejecting First Secretary Olivier Faure's proposal for a broader, more open contest. The vote, which Faure lost by a 55.5% to 44.5% margin, reshapes the left's electoral landscape and effectively kills an embryonic plan for a wider unity primary with the Ecologists and former La France insoumise figures.

The closed primary wins

The two options put to members were Faure's open primary (any sympathizer paying €2 could vote) and the alternative, backed by internal opponents Boris Vallaud, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol and Hélène Geoffroy, which limits the electorate to PS members and allied organizations. The latter won with 55.5% of the vote. The party said in a statement that the chosen candidate "will propose a rallying of all democratic, ecological and republican left parties to build a common program, a legislative agreement and a government contract together." Place publique, Raphaël Glucksmann's movement, is the most prominent allied formation eligible to participate.

I have regrets, of course. I wanted a broad primary that would engage part of the French people, create a form of uprising, like in 2012.

Faure told Franceinfo on Friday that he would not resign. "The question yesterday was not about whether I resign or not. The duty of a First Secretary is obviously to implement the decisions that have been taken," he said. He added that he will decide "when the time comes" whether to enter the October primary, giving himself a deadline of September.

Unity primary buried

The open-primary option was designed as the first stage of a two-round process in which the PS winner would then face candidates from the Ecologists and former LFI deputies Clémentine Autain and François Ruffin in a broader left-wing unity vote. That second stage is now off the table. Marine Tondelier, national secretary of the Ecologists, acknowledged Friday that "PS members have decided to bury the primary." She proposed two successive meetings of her party's federal council, not before July 13, to discuss strategy, including a possible independent Ecologist presidential bid.

PS members have decided to bury the primary.

Arthur Delaporte, a Socialist deputy from Calvados and a Faure ally, expressed frustration. "This plurality of egos who all believe they are the sole solution to win, it's unfortunate," he said on Franceinfo. Still, he insisted the designated candidate "has the responsibility afterward to build a wider rally."

Early candidates and the RN threat

Declared candidates for the PS primary so far include Philippe Brun (deputy for Eure) and Jérôme Guedj (deputy for Essonne). Guedj confirmed his run Friday on Europe1/CNews, saying he wants to be "the candidate of effective public-policy answers rather than a discourse of impotence or the promise of a great evening." Karim Bouamrane, the mayor of Saint-Ouen, announced his own candidacy but outside the primary framework. Raphaël Glucksmann is the current poll favorite in the social-democratic space.

Olivier Faure invoked the urgency of the National Rally threat, with polls showing the RN at 35% in voting intentions. "We mustn't waste much more time," he said, while cautioning against relying on polls: "Be wary of polls. Politicians and media make the same mistake at every presidential election, designating the winner a year in advance. The reality is that has never been the case, except in 1974."

This was a very clear choice. The First Secretary must hear it and change his method. We must now set course for the presidential election.

Boris Vallaud's statement, sent to AFP, captured the internal opposition's view that Faure has been weakened. The defeat follows another setback earlier in the week, when Faure was outvoted by his own camp on the Ecologists' censure motion in the National Assembly. The Socialist Party now moves toward an October primary with a narrowed electorate, a divided leadership, and the rest of the left recalibrating its response.