French presidential contender Édouard Philippe rejects centre right primary proposal

French presidential candidate and former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe on Sunday rejected participating in a centre-right primary, France 24 reported. His decision follows a proposal submitted last week by rival candidate Gabriel Attal, who suggested organizing a single vote to select a unified candidate for the centre-right bloc. [1][2]

Philippe ruled out the primary process to select a unified candidate to face political challenges from the far right and far left, France 24 said. He is running as the presidential candidate for the centre-right Horizons party and is currently performing better in opinion polls than his centre-right political rivals. [1]

Philippe served as prime minister under President Emmanuel Macron from 2017 to 2020, according to France 24. [1]

As FTMQ World reported earlier, other political parties in France have recently used online primaries to choose candidates, with the French Socialist nomination primary facing cyberattack disruptions during its voting process in October 2026. [5]