The suspense has all but disappeared. Barring a major surprise, Bruno Retailleau is set to run in the next presidential election. Gone are the days of dodging questions about the 2027 election with the answer: “Hill after hill,” a beloved phrase from Retailleau’s native Vendée, where no peak rises above an altitude of 300 meters. This down-to-earth caution ended up disheartening some of his supporters. “Bruno doesn’t show that he’s hungry” for the presidency, some said. In December 2025, Retailleau pledged to pick up the pace. “I need to do it, in order to be liberated,” he had said at the time, while confiding in a tight-knit group.
Is his liberation now imminent? Surrounded by his inner circle, Retailleau, president of the Les Républicains (LR, right) party, thought through his decision over the holidays. “He’s flipped a switch on something in his mind,” a source in his entourage said. The announcement of his candidacy is now just days or weeks away. Retailleau, who also serves Vendée as a senator, is ready to become the candidate tasked with returning the right to the Elysée, 15 years after Nicolas Sarkozy left the presidency.
You have 82.62% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
