David Lisnard calls for a "grand primary" of the right and centre

David Lisnard is calling on the right and center to organize a broad primary to select their candidate for the 2027 presidential election. In an opinion piece published Tuesday, August 25, in Le Monde, the mayor of Cannes argues that his camp will not be able to win if it presents a divided front in the first round. "Without a large primary open to all, the right and center will not be in a position to win," he warns, while several figures within this political spectrum harbor ambitions for the Élysée Palace.

For David Lisnard, no candidate currently possesses sufficient legitimacy to naturally prevail across the entire right and center. Rather than letting polls or political machines decide, he proposes transforming this primary into a true "quarter-final" of the presidential election. This should be broadly open to voters and candidates who share a foundation built around "freedom, individual responsibility, and national independence."

The president of Nouvelle Énergie, however, is not calling for the development of a common platform among the various candidates. Each would retain their own project and defend their own positions before the voters, who would be responsible for choosing between them. Lisnard thus hopes to avoid "backroom deals between elites" and believes that a popular consultation would give the winner far greater legitimacy than a nomination negotiated between political parties. He cites, in particular, the example of the 2016 primary, which mobilized more than four million voters.

David Lisnard says he is ready to participate in this competition and to respect the outcome, even in the event of defeat. He asks the other contenders to accept the same rules: the losers would not necessarily be obliged to enthusiastically support the winner, but should at least not hinder their campaign. With less than a year until the presidential election, the mayor of Cannes thus wants to force the various factions of the right and center to choose a single candidate before the first round.