Arles (AFP) – Édouard Philippe will begin a "grand tour" with public meetings in all French regions "until the end of December", and reaffirmed Friday his refusal of the primary and to debate with his competitors, an "operation consisting of dividing the right and the center".
Published on: 06/11/2026 - 19:12
“I am going to go to all the regions, and I am going to travel the country, organize meetings, public meetings with the French,” said the Horizons candidate for the presidential election during a trip to Bouches-du-Rhône.
The former Prime Minister will hold a public meeting on Saturday morning in La Ciotat (Bouches-du-Rhône). His campaign team has specified the dates of its next public meetings: Monday in Chartres, November 14 in Toulouse and November 19 in Rillieux-la-Pape (Rhône).
He had already used this format of small public meetings, punctuated by exchanges with the audience, in Annemasse (Haute-Savoie) and in Charleville-Mézières.
Mr. Philippe, on the other hand, reiterated his refusal to participate in a primary of the right and the center, advocated by David Lisnard (Nouvelle Energie) and now by Gabriel Attal (Renaissance) and by Bruno Retailleau, as well as in the debates recommended by the candidate of the Republicans (LR).
“I debate with my opponents. I proposed to Jean-Luc Mélenchon a debate (...), I understand that he does not want it,” he said. “But I will not participate in any operation consisting of dividing the right and the center. Because I think that we need unity, to create commonality, to think about action for France in the long term and not to accentuate divisions which may exist, which are legitimate but which do not, I think, serve the cause,” explained the Horizons candidate.
“Democracy is not simply the culture of clash, it is not only the culture of the formula, it is also a peaceful conversation with our fellow citizens and this is what I also want to organize in this campaign,” he said.
After Salon-de-Provence and Aix-en-Provence on Thursday, Édouard Philippe went to Marseille on Friday morning. In particular, he debated with high school students in the premises of the newspaper La Provence, and had lunch with economic players. He then visited a bull herd and spoke with representatives of the rice and wine sectors in Arles, a city administered by Mayor Horizons Patrick de Carolis, to whom he will present a decoration in the evening.
On Saturday, Mr. Philippe will go to La Ciotat, then debate at the Rencontres de l'Avenir in Saint-Raphaël (Var).
© 2026 AFP
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