Bruno Le Maire, France's former Minister of the Economy and Finance, published a manifesto titled A Manifesto for Another France, laying out what reads as a full political programme. He told the newspaper Le Parisien, however, that he is still not a candidate in France's 2027 presidential election.
The text appeared the same day that former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe called for the right and centre to unite behind a single candidate, as the number of contenders for 2027 continues to grow. Le Maire said he agreed a leader needed to emerge from the field, though he made clear it would not be him.
His stated aim is to build what he calls another France, standing apart from what he described as the communitarian France of Jean-Luc Melenchon and the small France of Marine Le Pen. He called the manifesto a text of conviction meant to open a debate on reinventing the country's system from top to bottom, describing the current system as exhausted.
A blueprint to overhaul the state
Candidate or not, Le Maire wants to shape the debate ahead of 2027. He set out three priorities: restoring state authority everywhere, securing prosperity through work and production, and overhauling France's institutional organisation to move toward what he called a federation of six nation-states, designed to defend European independence from China and the United States.
Defending the retirement age of 65
Le Maire also defended raising the retirement age to 65. He used the point to respond to Marine Le Pen, who has accused him of driving up the country's debt. Le Maire said the main cause of the debt was pensions, and asked who had voted against the pension reform, answering that it was the National Rally, Le Pen's own party.
Le Maire served as France's Economy and Finance Minister for seven years under President Emmanuel Macron, one of the longest tenures in the post. Le Pen leads the National Rally, a party on the far right, while Melenchon founded La France Insoumise, on the hard left. Philippe, who issued his own call for unity on the right and centre, was Macron's prime minister from 2017 to 2020.
No name put forward yet
Asked who could stand for 2027, Le Maire said the system needed to be rethought first, and that only then could a leader distinguish himself. He said the field should not be closed off, that it should be thrown open, and that the process was only just beginning.
The manifesto adds Le Maire's name to a widening field of declared and potential candidates for 2027, days after Philippe's call for a unified right-and-centre ticket.
