France's centrist ex-PM Gabriel Attal, 37, says running for president

Gabriel Attal said he will run for president next year, positioning himself as the second major centrist challenger as Emmanuel Macron steps down. The 37-year-old, who led Macron’s Renaissance party and served as France’s youngest prime minister in 2024, stated he believes France’s best future chapters are still ahead. He pledged to uplift individuals so children and grandchildren can have better lives, and to restore France as Europe’s leading power. Attal faces competition from Edouard Philippe, who leads the Horizons party. Polls have suggested Philippe could win a runoff against the far right. Attal’s rapid rise included roles as spokesperson, budget minister, and education minister before stepping down after Macron dissolved parliament in 2024, a move intended to block far-right gains that instead backfired.

""I can't take this kind of French politics anymore, where it's just 50 shades of managing decline," said the 37-year-old, who was France's youngest prime minister when he served in 2024. "I have decided to run for president," he said in the southern village of Mur-de-Barrez."

""Having travelled a lot in France and met many French people, I've come to a conviction -- a very strong one -- that our finest chapters are still ahead of us," he said. The newest presidential candidate, an openly gay Parisian who leads the Renaissance party founded by Macron, is hoping to lead the centrist camp in the 2027 polls."

"Speaking to the press in Mur-de-Barrez, Attal pledged to uplift individuals "so that everyone in France can say to themselves that their children, their grandchildren will have a better life". He also promised to uplift France so that "every French person in France can say to themselves that our country will once again become Europe's leading power"."

"He stepped down as prime minister after Macron dissolved the parliament in the summer of 2024, in a gamble that was intended to stave off the advance of the far right. The snap polls instead backfired and ended up allowing the far-right Rassemblement National to become the single largest party in a hung parliamen"

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