French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanen supported French conservative presidential candidate Edouard Philippe in the upcoming elections. Darmanen announced this in an interview with the newspaper published on Monday, August 17.
Darmanen, who holds the position of French Justice Minister and belongs to the conservative right‑wing political bloc, told the regional publication La Voix du Nord that he backs Philippe and will not put forward his own candidacy, “for the country’s interest”.
“We are in an extremely difficult situation, with many serious social problems for the French. Therefore, I decided not to create additional divisions, so I will not put forward my candidacy in the presidential elections. I will support Edouard Philippe in the presidential elections and hope that others will do the same,” Darmanen told the newspaper.
Philippe’s political career
Edouard Philippe was the first Prime Minister of Emmanuel Macron and held this position from May 2017 to July 2020. During his premiership, he faced the “yellow vests” protests in 2018 and the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Context of the presidential elections
Two public‑opinion polls published in July showed that far‑right leader Marine Le Pen could win next year’s elections, despite the appeals court upholding a guilty verdict in the case of misappropriation of EU funds.
Source: REUTERS
