PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Former French Prime Ministers Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal are the favoured candidates to lead the centrist challenge in next year’s presidential election, said an Elabe/BFM TV poll on Wednesday.
The centrist French political bloc close to President Emmanuel Macron lost its grip in the lower house of parliament after Macron called a snap parliamentary election in 2024, and it has faced unyielding pressure from both the far-right National Rally (RN) and far-left France Unbowed (LFI) parties.
Philippe – Macron’s first prime minister – has consistently portrayed himself as a 2027 presidential candidate.
He has also increasingly criticised Macron in recent years, as Macron’s attempts to get a budget through parliament has faced consistent challenges from opposition parties.
The Elabe/BFM TV poll added that former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was seen as the favoured candidate from the traditional, conservative right-wing camp for the 2027 election.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
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