Former French PM Villepin launches new party two years before presidential election
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Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin has not confirmed if he will stand in the next presidential election.
PHOTO: AFP
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- Dominique de Villepin launched Humanist France, a new political party, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
- De Villepin aims to unite French people, advocating for social justice and republican order, opposing radicalism from both left and right.
- Though not explicitly stating presidential ambitions, De Villepin offers a platform of unity and humanism amidst French political tension.
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PARIS – Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin has announced the launch of his own political party, named La France Humaniste (Humanist France), two years before the country’s presidential election is set to take place.
Mr de Villepin, 71, was prime minister of France under then President Jacques Chirac between 2005 and 2007 and also the late leader’s foreign minister between 2002 and 2004.
The traditional right-wing politician made his mark on the global stage as Mr Chirac’s head of diplomacy, delivering an impassioned speech against the invasion of Iraq at a UN Security Council meeting in 2003.
“I decided to create a movement of ideas, of citizens, through the creation of a political party,” said Mr de Villepin, in an interview with daily newspaper Le Parisien published on June 24.
“This movement is for everyone. We need to unite all French people to defend social justice and the republican order,” he added.
Mr de Villepin – who was also minister of the interior under Mr Chirac – did not explicitly make clear his intention to stand for president, but the new party is likely to be seen as a key platform for such a bid.
“I am not for escalation... but for a politics of balance and measure,” he said.
“Against a path of tension and identity polarisation, I offer one of assembly, public interest and humanism.”
He told Le Parisien that “French people deserve to have the choice” and not be caught “between the radicalism of the LFI (hard-left France Unbowed) and that of the RN (far-right National Rally)”.
The contours of the French 2027 presidential election remain largely unclear, with centre-right former prime minister Edouard Philippe the only major player to clearly state he will stand and President Emmanuel Macron barred from seeking another mandate.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen is eager to stand for the fourth time, but her conviction earlier in 2025 in a fake jobs scandal
She has appealed, and waiting in the wings is her protege, Mr Jordan Bardella, 29, who would stand if Ms Le Pen was ineligible.
If French far-right leader Marine Le Pen (left) is judged to be ineligible for the presidential election, her protege, Mr Jordan Bardella, will stand instead.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Mr de Villepin, whom polls show to be France’s most popular politician along with Mr Philippe, declined to say explicitly that he would stand, saying “now is not the time to enter into the presidential debate”.
But he added: “Faced with the path of tension and polarisation of identities, I propose that of unity, of the general interest, and of humanism.” AFP
