A survey conducted by Elabe for BFMTV shows that 87% of the French are worried about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the candidates for the Elysée will be judged on their ability to confront major geopolitical upheavals.
With a year to go before the presidential election, international news emerges as a major issue for the future election. The ability of the different contenders to take on the role of head of state will be closely scrutinized. They will need to appear credible and reassuring in a context where the future of the world has never been so uncertain and the resulting anxiety is also strong among voters. The primary concerns remain national, but the French are daily witnessing the direct consequences of geopolitical upheavals on their lives, starting with the price of fuel.
“Can you imagine them at the table with Donald Trump, Xi Jingping, and Vladimir Putin?” This question will be repeated constantly in the coming months. Jordan Bardella and Gabriel Attal will have to respond to their rivals’ criticisms, who consider them too inexperienced in the matter to reach the Elysée.
On the other hand, other more experienced political figures see their background as an asset. Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, tries to revive the memory of France’s refusal to participate in the U.S. war in Iraq in 2003. François Hollande, on the other hand, highlights his time on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré: “I have a difference with the others: I have already been president,” emphasizes the former head of state this week in a major interview with Marianne when asked what distinguishes him from Raphaël Glucksmann, Bernard Cazeneuve, or Jérôme Guedj. A way to tell the French that he knows the job and would be immediately operational. Also an advantage for Édouard Philippe: “He looks like a President, you see him talking with Trump,” concedes an associate of Emmanuel Macron, with whom relations are nevertheless frosty.
Because even though he is not a candidate, the American president will be a central figure in this campaign. “Trump is the third chair in the debate between the two rounds, he has become a player in French politics,” analyzes a close aide to the president of the Republic. What will you do if the United States withdraws from NATO? Will France have to send troops to Greenland if Donald Trump decides to invade? How to react if the weapon of tariffs is once again wielded by Washington? These are the questions that the candidates for the Elysée will have to answer. The French have not forgotten that it is indeed the leader of the armed forces that they will elect in a few months.
