At its national congress in Dijon, Nathalie Delattre presented 40 proposals for France’s future. With the far-right National Rally gaining ground, the challenge for liberals is to offer voters a convincing alternative.
There was no shortage of calls for unity in Dijon last week at ALDE Party member Parti Radical’s 126th national Congress held 10-11 October. Liberals gathered as France starts to look towards a presidential election that could reshape its relationship with Europe.
For party president Nathalie Delattre, that means going back to basics. Presenting the party’s Manifesto 2027 in front of a crowd of 200 people, she argued that simply denouncing the far-right National Rally is no longer enough to halt its rise. Parties must also understand why voters and local elected representatives have lost trust in them.
The manifesto sets out 40 commitments under the banner of a new generational pact. Its proposals cover education, wages and the ecological transition, alongside a call to restore confidence in democratic institutions and strengthen France’s commitment to Europe.
The urgency is clear. A poll reported on 12 October put far-right leader Marine Le Pen and far-left figure Jean-Luc Mélenchon ahead in the first-round scenarios for 2027, illustrating the pressure on France’s political centre and the scale of polarisation at play.
The poll is a snapshot, but it underlines the challenge facing those hoping to prevent the next election from becoming a contest between the political extremes.
Le Pen’s potential presidency matters well beyond France; her plans to challenge aspects of the EU’s budgetary powers and reduce France’s contribution to the EU could shift internal relationships and power dynamics.
The congress also brought together several prominent figures from France’s political centre, including Gabriel Attal of Renaissance, Édouard Philippe of Horizons, former prime minister Élisabeth Borne and centre-right leader Xavier Bertrand. The calls for unity in Dijon reflected the urgency of building a viable alternative ahead of 2027.
Delattre got to the heart of the problem: “The rallying must not come before the project. It must be its consequence.” In other words, a coalition cannot rely on the desire to keep the National Rally out of power alone. It needs a programme that gives voters a positive reason to support it.
For liberals, that is the broader lesson. Defending democracy means explaining what liberal democracy can deliver, listening to those who feel left behind and making a convincing case for an open, democratic France at home and in Europe.
Parti Radical has put its proposals on the table. The question now is whether France’s political centre can turn its calls for unity into a credible offer for 2027, one that gives voters something to choose rather than simply someone to vote against.