Édouard Philippe, the former Prime Minister of France, is seen as the only significant option to defeat Marine Le Pen in next year's presidential election. However, weaknesses in his campaign have fueled concerns among his allies, and some of them doubt his chances of success.
Challenges of Philippe's Campaign
Philippe, who promised a "grand" campaign program to reform France and improve the country's economic situation, has made more efforts in recent weeks to increase his campaign activities. However, his proposals have often had little impact. One of his campaign officials expressed concern that "nothing is impactful," raising serious worries about his strategy.
Philippe remains the best option as the main candidate to confront Le Pen, but polls show that his ratings have stalled over the past year, and he is now in a close competition with Jean-Luc Mélenchon for the second position that would take him to the second round of the election.
Facing Strong Rivals
Philippe faces multiple challenges: he has yet to unite the center behind him and carries the heavy burden of a decade of centrist governance. Additionally, he struggles to attract voters with his message as a pragmatic leader fighting against populism.
Meanwhile, Le Pen and Mélenchon are making headlines with controversial proposals and political rivalries. The two populists clashed fiercely last week over school protests. According to one of Philippe's allies, "the risk is very high" that Le Pen and Mélenchon will push him out of the race.
Philippe, who stepped down from the prime ministership under Emmanuel Macron in 2020, has been seeking to succeed him for years. However, he has faced many challenges along the campaign trail. His recent announcement to raise the retirement age to 65, instead of being a turning point, was almost overlooked.
Philippe and his team hope to gain the support of local representatives and lawmakers in the coming weeks and challenge their rivals. However, according to one centrist senator, "there is no real movement anywhere," and the campaign's status is progressing slowly.
Read more: Gabriel Attal committed to creating the United States of Europe
