De Villepin weighs 2027 run to unite France's anti-war camp
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- Donald Trump is pushing European NATO allies to help break Iran's de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, threatening allies who don't respond with a 'very bad' future, even as he claims the Iranian military is 'annihilated.'
- German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius publicly questioned what Trump expects 'a handful of European frigates to do that the powerful U.S. Navy cannot,' declaring 'This is not our war, and we did not start it.'
- Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the war is 'outside international law' but sent French military assets to Cyprus to protect a UK base allegedly targeted in retaliation, and joined EU foreign ministers in approving new economic sanctions on Iran.
- Dominique de Villepin, France's former foreign minister, called the Iran campaign 'even more dangerous and more reckless' than the 2003 Iraq War and urged France and Europe to issue a united message that the war is 'illegal, illegitimate, ineffective and dangerous.'
- De Villepin proposed refusing any participation in the war, condemning it in international forums, and imposing sanctions on Israel for 'creating a tragic humanitarian situation in the Middle East,' while praising Spain's Pedro Sanchez as 'saving Europe's honor.'
- With 2027 French presidential elections approaching and Macron constitutionally barred from a third term, de Villepin is reportedly considering a run that could bridge France's anti-war left and sovereignist right around anti-war, multipolarity, and sovereignty.
- Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella of the far-right Rassemblement National — currently leading French polls — have aligned the Patriots for Europe group with Tel Aviv and backed Macron's 'defensive intervention,' exposing the limits of their sovereignist rhetoric.
Why it matters: With 2027 French elections approaching and the RN leading polls despite backing intervention in the Middle East, de Villepin's potential candidacy offers a rare bridge between France's anti-war left and sovereignist right — a coalition that could realign French foreign policy away from Atlanticist alignment. His positions on the Iran war, sanctions on Israel, and rejection of Trump's NATO pressure would directly challenge both Macron's equivocation and the RN's Israel alignment.
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