Politics · France · 2 hrs ago
Édouard Philippe rejects a proposed presidential primary and criticizes raising the minimum wage
Édouard Philippe, the Horizons candidate for France’s 2027 presidential election, spoke on TF1 on Sunday.
He said he does not expect a proposed primary among politicians from the pro-Macron camp to take place.
He called the primary divisive and confusing, arguing that it would bring together people who do not agree.
The proposal came from Gabriel Attal, another former prime minister, who had called for a broad primary.
Philippe said raising the minimum wage would be an illusory solution to social distress while France faces weak growth and problems with competitiveness.
He also urged students involved in protests to return to class after the government offered a response to some of their demands.
He said France must put its public finances in order, and argued that presidential candidates should present their plans on issues such as schools, health care and pensions.
Édouard Philippe said he did not believe a proposed presidential primary would take place.
He called the proposed primary divisive and confusing, saying it would bring together people who had said they did not want to work together.
Gabriel Attal had proposed a “primary of democrats,” which Philippe’s party, Horizons, had also rejected.
Philippe called raising the minimum wage an illusory response to social distress, citing France’s competitiveness problems and weak growth.
He said France needed to put its public finances in order and argued that success depended on effort.
- Who
- Édouard Philippe, mayor of Le Havre and Horizons’ presidential candidate, responded to a proposal by Gabriel Attal.
- What
- Philippe rejected the proposed “primary of democrats” and criticized raising the minimum wage.
- When
- He spoke in a TF1 interview on Sunday evening; the articles were published on October 31 and November 1, 2026.
- Where
- On TF1.
- Why
- He said the primary would be divisive and confusing, and that raising the minimum wage would not address social distress given France’s competitiveness problems and weak growth.
Gabriel Attal
Édouard Philippe
Proposed primary
Gabriel Attal
Attal proposed a “primary of democrats.
Édouard Philippe
Philippe said he did not believe the primary would take place and called it divisive and confusing.
Philippe’s party, Horizons, again responded negatively to Gabriel Attal’s primary proposal.
Gabriel Attal appeared on TF1 and proposed a “primary of democrats.
Philippe was interviewed on TF1 and said he did not believe the primary would take place.
- Primary proposal
- Gabriel Attal proposed a “primary of democrats.
- Philippe’s response
- He called the primary divisive and confusing.
- Party
- Horizons
- Minimum wage
- Philippe called an increase an illusory solution.
- Interview outlet
- TF1
3 sources
Edouard Philippe refuse une nouvelle fois de participer à une primaire de la droite et du centre, source de "division" et de "confusion"
Présidentielle 2027 : Édouard Philippe rejette la «primaire des démocrates» proposée par Gabriel Attal
EN DIRECT - Présidentielle 2027 : Édouard Philippe invité du 20H de TF1 ce dimanche
What people are saying
Je ne crois pas que cette primaire aura lieu
Je pense que cette primaire est une primaire de la division et une primaire de la confusion
augmenter le Smic alors que l'économie française a un énorme problème de compétitivité, alors que la croissance est en berne, ça me paraît une solution illusoire