Marine Tondelier, national secretary of Les Écologistes, has officially announced her candidacy for the 2027 presidential election in Le Nouvel Obs magazine. Positioning herself as the 'blue helmet of the left,' she bypasses her party's internal designation process. The announcement aligns with her efforts to unite the left since the formation of the Nouveau Front populaire in 2024.
Marine Tondelier, a prominent figure in Les Écologistes, revealed her candidacy for the 2027 French presidency in an interview with Le Nouvel Obs. In her Paris office in the 11th arrondissement, furnished in green and featuring a rack of malachite blazers—including one gifted by the NGO PETA made of vegetable-derived viscose—she embodies a political-media identity tied to this ecological color.
Since the creation of the Nouveau Front populaire (NFP) in 2024, Tondelier sees herself as a 'safe value' for the left, advocating for unity and a primary election. 'My outfit had become a transitional object, as psychoanalysts say. The equivalent of a comfort blanket for an anxious left-wing adult amid the ongoing legislative elections,' she confides. She even wonders: 'Am I listened to because of what I say or because of what I wear?'
The announcement follows the release of her book Demain, si tout va bien… (Albin Michel, 240 pages, 16.90 euros), published on October 1. Printed in 18,000 copies, it sold 963 units in twenty days. Far from an electoral program, it aims to be a 'feel-good' book against resignation. 'People are already kind to take the leaflet we hand them at markets, so we're not going to sell them one either. Who would buy a 20-euro program? I wanted to make a feel-good book that gives energy, against general resignation,' she explains.
By bypassing her party's internal designation process, Tondelier asserts her role as the 'blue helmet of the left,' seeking to pacify and unite progressive forces ahead of 2027.