Candidates in the French social-democratic primary will take part in a live televised debate on news channel LCI on Wednesday, September 23.
The special broadcast, titled Face aux Français and presented by television journalist David Pujadas, will feature all declared contenders sharing a single set to answer questions from around a dozen French citizens.
Organised in partnership with the national newspaper Le Parisien, the program will air on channel 15 starting at 8:40 pm. The debate comes seven months ahead of the first round of the French presidential election, with candidates answering questions on major international, economic, societal, ecological, and governance issues.
Candidacy requirements and voter eligibility
Politicians seeking to enter the primary have until September 15 to formally declare their candidacies. To secure a place on the ballot, socialist aspirants must obtain sponsorship from 15 members of the Parti Socialiste national council.
Alternatively, candidates can qualify by gathering endorsement signatures from 10 parliamentarians, 50 regional or departmental councillors spanning at least eight departments and three regions, or 50 mayors spread across three regions.
Voting in the primary is open to members of the Parti Socialiste and the centre-left party Place Publique who are up to date with their membership dues. Participants must also pay a fee of 15 euros to cast their vote.
Primary voting schedule and background
The primary will be conducted over two rounds of voting, with the first round scheduled for October 9 and 10, followed by a deciding second round on October 16 and 17, 2026. The winner will represent the social-democratic movement in the upcoming presidential race.
The Parti Socialiste is France's historic centre-left political movement, which previously held the presidency under François Mitterrand and François Hollande. Place Publique is a smaller centre-left party that has formed electoral alliances with the socialists in recent national and European contests.
LCI, owned by the TF1 Group, is one of France's primary 24-hour news networks. In addition to television broadcasting on channel 15, the debate will be streamed live on the TF1info digital platform and across the network's social media channels.
