Following his narrow defeat in the Pau municipal election, MoDem leader François Bayrou stated on LCI that he does not envision running for president in 2027. He described the loss as 'difficult' and 'a pain' but vowed to rebound, while urging central bloc candidates to consolidate early behind the strongest contender.
François Bayrou, the former Prime Minister and MoDem leader, reacted to his recent loss of Pau city hall—his Béarnais stronghold since 2014—to socialist Jérôme Marbot. Speaking on LCI Tuesday evening, Bayrou called the defeat 'difficult' and 'a pain,' noting his deep ties to the city he had led for over a decade.
Undeterred, he rejected any sense of depression: 'If you fall and stay on the ground, then it's a failure. And if you get back up, it's a new start,' attributing the sentiment to Socrates. This resilience comes six months after his government's fall via a no-confidence vote in September 2025.
Looking ahead to the 2027 presidential election, Bayrou explicitly ruled himself out: he 'did not have the presidential election in sight.' Instead, he advocated for unity in the central bloc, calling on weaker candidates to withdraw by late January or February 2027 in favor of the best-placed, emphasizing self-sacrifice to foster national union and identify a unifying leader.
