PARIS, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Bruno Retailleau, a former French interior minister and head of the centre-right Republicans party, will run for president in the 2027 election, sources close to him said on Thursday, the latest figure to try their luck succeeding President Emmanuel Macron.
Retailleau is due to formally announce his candidacy in a speech later on Thursday.
A conservative senator from the Vendée region in western France, the 65-year-old served as interior minister from 2024 to 2025, first under former Prime Minister Michel Barnier, and then in the administration of François Bayrou.
He was reappointed when current Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu took office last October but resigned shortly afterwards, expressing anger over Lecornu's other cabinet picks.
That episode, which also prompted Lecornu to resign before being reappointed by Macron, damaged Retailleau's standing.
Polls suggest Retailleau faces an uphill battle to win the presidency, but he oversees a party with a strong parliamentary bloc that will likely be heavily courted by presidential rivals - most notably the far-right National Rally led by Marine Le Pen - should Retailleau fail to make the second round.
Retailleau is a hard-liner on immigration, and spent much of his time as interior minister seeking to ramp up deportations and crack down on drug crime. However, he may struggle to distinguish himself against the far-right RN, led by Le Pen and her protege Jordan Bardella, who have staked out a strong position in the polls thanks to their focus on these issues.
Since his departure from government, Retailleau has been very critical of the executive, criticising the concessions granted by Lecornu to the Socialist Party to pass a 2026 budget and avoid being toppled.
(Editing by Gabriel Stargardter and Toby Chopra)
