Presidential elections 2027: Edouard Philippe is “preparing casually but seriously”

Edouard Philippe said on France Bleu on Friday that he is preparing “in a calm but serious manner” for the 2027 presidential elections, in which he is increasingly hiding his candidacy ambitions.

“Many people think that 2027 is still a long way off. But I learned that when you cook something difficult, you need to prepare for it. This is what I do, very casually, but at the same time very seriously,” said the former prime minister.

“It would be a shame not to be prepared. Not being prepared would even be criminal, even considering the stakes,” he assured on December 20 on the set of “Quotidien” on the TMC channel.

The preparation that “takes place through a trip to France. I read, I meet people, I try to think, I try to propose, I travel abroad,” he explained. “And we try to surround ourselves because we never do anything alone,” he added, admitting that he is in the process of “building” a team.

According to polls, it is very popular among the French.

The mayor of Le Havre has been increasing the number of trips for several months and does not intend to stop in 2024. Having gathered several hundred leaders of his Horizons party in Paris on Tuesday evening, he was in Aisne on Wednesday. It will also soon travel to Mayenne, Sarthe and New Caledonia.

“Moving is also a time when we listen and learn. I am interested in what the associated actors, those responsible for social structures, entrepreneurs say and feed my thoughts,” he explained on Friday.

More than three years after leaving government, Edouard Philippe remains very popular among the French, according to polls. At the end of December he was at the top of the list of political figures with whom the French would like to have a beer, yet, according to Ifop research, with two potential rivals for 2027: National Rally President Marine Le Pen and future Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.