French politician Glucksmann launches presidential bid

French centre-left politician Raphael Glucksmann launched a bid for the presidency on Sunday, seeking to challenge firebrand hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon for dominance of France's fractured left ahead of a campaign increasingly shaped by the far right.



Far-right leader Marine Le Pen consistently tops first-round voting intentions, and potential challengers from the political centre and left face an uphill battle to defeat her in a runoff, according to opinion polls.



Glucksmann, a pro-European EU lawmaker who led the mainstream left alliance in the 2024 European Parliament election to 14% of the vote, trails Melenchon in opinion polls and a key question is whether he — or other potential centre-left candidates — could unite moderate left-wing forces.



His candidacy comes as France's political class returns from the summer break and gears up for what is expected to be a highly polarised presidential contest ahead of the vote in April and May 2027.