If certain lists competing for the European elections are carried by well-known faces, others are led by more discreet personalities. Here are the main candidates and parties on the starting line.
They are all in working order for the European elections. The heads of the list of the eight main French political parties are already campaigning for the election on June 9. They are the ones who embody the ideas and the program defended by each political force, but they are not alone in the race. In total, the parties must present a list of 81 candidates: one for each seat in the European Parliament reserved for French elected officials, but of course not all the candidates on the same list will be elected. The official lists are expected between May 6 and 17.
The number of winners in each political formation will depend on the scores obtained in the European election results. In any case, the campaign will revolve around the leaders and leaders of the political parties. Here is an overview of the personalities in the running.
The top eight leaders
►Jordan Bardella
The president of the National Rally and MEP since 2019 has decided to run for a new term in the European Parliament. The young politician hopes to once again see his list top the election results as in 2019 when the National Rally was ahead of the presidential majority by a very small point, but this time he wants to widen the gap. Jordan Bardella is comforted by the results of polls which have given a clear advantage to the far-right list for several months.
► Valérie Hayer
The presidential majority has decided to rely on outgoing MEP Valérie Hayer to lead its list. The choice of this head of the list was slow in coming, but was imposed after the refusals suffered by the presidential camp. Unknown to the general public, the parliamentarian who was elected president of the Renew Europe group in January 2024 knows the mysteries of the European Parliament, but must convince voters at a time when the majority is struggling to establish itself at the top of voting intentions.
► Raphaël Glucksmann
The socialist left has decided to reiterate its alliance with the Place publique party for the European elections and, as in 2019; he is one of the founders of the second group which carries the list: Raphaël Glucksmann. The MEP known for taking his political battles to social networks has established himself as the leading left-wing political force in the polls and is gradually climbing from his third place. To the point of creating a surprise?
► Marie Toussaint
Environmentalists have also decided to bet on the same horse for the 2024 Europeans by naming Marie Toussaint as head of the list. But will the MEP who has been in Parliament since 2019 manage to do as well, or even better, than five years ago? At the time the environmentalist list came third in the voting results, today it is given as the second left-wing force.
► François-Xavier Bellamy
It is François-Xavier Bellamy who leads the Republican list, as in previous European elections. The right-wing politician had not performed well with just 8.4% of the vote, but the political party decided to trust him again. With this election, it is the retention of the few elected Republicans in the European Parliament that is at stake.
► Manon Aubry
La France insoumise wanted to see the left-wing forces united on the same list for the European elections on the model of what had been done for the previous legislative elections with Nupes. But the weakened coalition finally exploded before the start of the electoral campaign, cutting short the hopes of the rebels. It was therefore ultimately Manon Aubry who was appointed to carry the list of rebels.
► Marion Maréchal
The Reconquest party which appeared in French peasant politics during the last presidential election is entering its first European elections. And it is Marion Maréchal, vice-president of the Zemmourist party, who is at the head of the list. The niece of Marine Le Pen still finds herself an opponent of the historic far-right party that is the National Rally, but in the poll results the Lepenist party is far ahead of its conservative rival.
► Léon Deffontaines
At the French Communist Party, the choice was made to bet on the future of the party for the European elections. The young Léon Deffontaines, foal of Fabien Roussel, will lead the list. The general secretary of the Young Communists is participating in his first election as a candidate and although he is unknown to the general public, he benefits from the popularity and experience of his mentor. But will this be enough to allow the French communists to return to the European Parliament?
Who are the other candidates for the European elections?
The eight main parties are not the only ones to place themselves on the starting line before the European elections. Some personalities, accustomed to elections, have also indicated their candidacy to head minor lists:
- Nathalie Arthaud for Workers’ Struggle
- William Lacroix for the Radical Left Party
- Florian Philippot for the Patriots
- François Asselineau for the Republican Popular Union (UPR)
- Helene Thouy for the animalist party
- Jean Lassalle for the “Rural Alliance” list with Willy Schraen’s hunting federation
- Jean-Marc Governatori, former candidate for the environmentalist primaries, for an “Ecology at the Center” list
- Jean-Christophe Fromantin for the Territories on the Move party
- Caroline Zorn for the Pirate Party
- Sven Franck for Volt Europa
- Philippe Folliot for the centrist Alliance
- Yves Gernignon for the European Federalist Party
- Marine Cholley for Equinox
- Thierry-Paul Valette for Fair Europe
- Laure Patas d’Illiers for Europe Democracy Esperanto
Other lists could emerge. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan’s Debout le France party should, barring any surprises, take part in the ballot but it is still looking for who will be its headliner and who will compose its list. The singer Francis Lalanne declared that he wanted to propose a list of candidates under the name of “Union of the Resistance” with the comedian Dieudonné among his running mates.