Primary: Philippe says no, Attal insists it is inevitable

The tug-of-war is now out in the open, and it is being played out twelve hours apart on the same set. On Sunday, on TF1's 8pm news, Édouard Philippe shut the door on the primary for the centre and the right that Gabriel Attal wants. On Monday morning, again on TF1, the Renaissance candidate responded without giving an inch.

Philippe warns of division and confusion

The mayor of Le Havre, the candidate of Horizons, has opposed the idea of a primary for months. He reiterated it forcefully: in his view, the "great democrats' primary" launched by his rival a few days earlier would be a primary of division and confusion. He pointed to what he sees as an incoherent alliance, mixing heirs of Macronism with figures tempted by a union of the right, such as the mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard.

He said he was convinced the contest would not take place. Without calling on his rivals, all of whom he considers legitimate, to rally behind him, he put off the moment of decision until early next year, saying that in February everyone would take responsibility.

He added that if the French did not want him, he would draw the consequences.

Attal: a primary is inevitable

The response came on Monday morning. For Gabriel Attal, an MP and secretary general of Renaissance, only a primary can enable his camp to reach the second round and avoid a Marine Le Pen - Jean-Luc Mélenchon run-off, the scenario the polls point to at this stage.

He said he believed that in the end the primary would take place, calling it inevitable.

He turned his rival's accusation back on him: for him, the real division would be fielding five candidates from the same political space in the first round. He regretted the former Prime Minister's categorical refusal, without ruling out a primary organised without him, and set his sights on early 2027, saying the sooner the better.

A camp in disarray

Édouard Philippe remains ahead in this political space according to the polls, a few points ahead of Gabriel Attal, but has been going through a less favourable period for several weeks. None of the contenders from the central bloc and the right (Attal, Philippe, Dominique de Villepin, Bruno Retailleau, David Lisnard, Xavier Bertrand) currently appears able to reach the second round alone, according to the surveys cited by AFP.

François Bayrou's MoDem supports the idea of a primary, as does David Lisnard. Bruno Retailleau (LR) is not opposed but sets conditions on its scope. Horizons had already rejected the proposal last week, with its leader in the Assemblée nationale, Laurent Marcangeli, denouncing a muddled and risky approach.

What next?

The first round of the presidential election is set for 18 April 2027. Until then, the two men are sticking to their positions: Attal wants to win broad support by early next year, while Philippe has set February as the deadline. The centre and the right have just over five months to avoid the scenario they all fear.