Faure, whose mother was born in Vietnam, says integration has made France richer and warns that a Le Pen presidency would come at a heavy cost for citizens of immigrant origin.
Faure enters the race for the Élysée
The leader of France’s Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, will stand in the country’s 2027 presidential election, French media reported on Monday.
Faure said he had decided to put his name forward as a candidate for the head of state because he wanted to make France “fairer.”
A personal commitment to integration
The politician noted that he is of partly foreign origin — his mother is Vietnamese — and said this background had left him deeply convinced of the benefits of integrating foreigners into French society, which, he argued, only becomes richer as a result.
The Socialist leader stressed that Marine Le Pen must not become president under any circumstances, saying such an outcome would come at a heavy price for French people of immigrant origin.
Party nomination still to be decided
Before officially entering the presidential race, Faure intends to secure the status of sole candidate for the Socialist Party. To that end, he will take part in an internal ballot among party supporters in October.
Alongside Faure, three other Socialist Party members — Philippe Brun, Jérôme Guedj and Ségolène Royal — are expected to take part in the preliminary vote, as is Raphaël Glucksmann, leader of the small left-wing party Place Publique.
France’s presidential election is scheduled for April 18, 2027, with a second round on May 2 if required. The incumbent president, Emmanuel Macron, will not take part, having already served two consecutive terms.
