French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin has ruled out running in the 2027 presidential election and endorsed Edouard Philippe in an interview published on Monday by regional newspaper La Voix du Nord.
Darmanin, who also serves as France's Keeper of the Seals, announced his decision ahead of his annual political return scheduled for August 30 in Tourcoing, where Philippe is set to attend as the candidate for the Horizons party.
Darmanin said France was facing an extremely difficult social situation for its citizens. He explained that he decided not to add further division, choosing instead to step back from the presidential race and support Philippe, while encouraging others across the political centre to do the same.
Loyalty and leadership qualities
Speaking out of loyalty, the justice minister praised Philippe as a statesman with experience of power who is currently best placed to succeed. He added that Philippe was the figure who first enabled him to serve as a government minister.
Both politicians share a political background as former members of the centre-right UMP party, which later became Les Républicains, before Philippe became mayor of Le Havre.
The upcoming August 30 event in Tourcoing, a town in the northern Nord department that serves as Darmanin's electoral stronghold, will mark his fourth political return. Darmanin previously created his own political movement, Populaires, which was put into dormancy when he retained his post in government in the autumn of 2025.
Polling and central bloc dynamics
Philippe declared his candidacy for the 2027 presidential election in 2024 and currently leads voting intention polls among candidates from the central bloc. He stands ahead of Gabriel Attal, the secretary general of the Renaissance party.
Both Philippe and Attal previously discussed rallying behind whichever candidate proved best placed in polls by early 2027.
However, MoDem president Francois Bayrou expressed a different view last week, calling for a primary election encompassing all reformist democrats. Bayrou cited several potential candidates for such a primary, including former European commissioner Thierry Breton.
Cabinet backing for Philippe
Philippe has already secured support within the French government from spokesperson Maud Bregon and Mathieu Lefevre, the minister delegate for ecological transition.
Both Bregon and Lefevre maintain close political ties to Darmanin, whose endorsement further consolidates Philippe's position within the government's central coalition.
