Bruno Retailleau, president of the Republicans, officialized his candidacy for the 2027 presidential election on February 12, 2026, through a video on social media and a letter to his parliamentarians. At 65 years old, he depicts a France in decline and promises to restore order, justice, and national pride. He plans referendums on immigration, justice, and sovereignty.
Bruno Retailleau, senator from Vendée and former Interior Minister, matured his candidacy decision during his time at Place Beauvau, accelerated by that experience. On February 12, 2026, he personally informed Republican (LR) deputies and senators by letter: “I wanted to personally inform you that I am about to declare my candidacy for the presidential election.” In a sober speech, with French and European flags in the background, posted on social media, he stated: “I have decided to be a candidate for the presidential election.”
He diagnoses a France “that is sinking” amid global threats like Vladimir Putin, China, Donald Trump, and Islamism. “To face the world’s disorders, our country must first put its affairs in order,” he asserts. His priorities: restore order by imposing the Republic’s authority, without yielding “neither to violence, nor to political correctness, nor to the drifts of the rule of law.” He promises to guarantee justice by refounding the social model, prioritizing work over assistance, and relaunching a family policy.
Retailleau aims to revive French pride, defend culture, and redirect ecology toward progress. On education, he criticizes the school system as “a machine to reproduce inequalities.” He commits to submitting texts via referendum on drastically reducing immigration – “immigration is not an opportunity” beyond a certain threshold –, a revolution in criminal justice, and the primacy of national law.
This announcement, before the March 15 and 22 municipal elections, comes amid internal doubts within LR, with rivals like Xavier Bertrand and Michel Barnier. Laurent Wauquiez, head of LR deputies, advocates for a single right-wing candidate beyond LR, through a broadened primary from Gérald Darmanin to Sarah Knafo. Retailleau assumes: “I will promise nothing that I cannot deliver.”
