"We must rebuild social democracy": former Macronist Sacha Houlié joins Raphaël Glucksmann

Former figure of the left wing of Macron's party, MP Sacha Houlié announced this Monday, June 23, in the columns of Le Parisien that he was joining Place publique and its leader, MEP Raphaël Glucksmann , in order to "rebuild social democracy" in the run-up to the 2027 presidential election.

"We must rebuild social democracy to offer a fourth way," alongside the right, the far right, and the "radicalized left," the 36-year-old MP said. "That's why I decided to join Place publique and Raphaël Glucksmann in order to contribute, if I may say so, to this effort."

This rally comes as Raphaël Glucksmann, who is refining his presidential stature for 2027, presented his "vision for France" on Monday, without announcing that he is a candidate at this stage.

Warning of "a battle between the far right and the conservative right" in 2027, Sacha Houlié lamented that "due to a failure to organize, social democracy has been dissolved."

"It must be reborn with Place publique. Without it, we will be spectators of the next presidential campaign," added this former president of the Law Commission, who currently sits among the non-registered members of the National Assembly after leaving the Renaissance group.

He invited those who were hesitant to "take the plunge" and join Raphaël Glucksmann, specifying that he had "had many discussions with elected socialists, ecologists" and "centrists".

While Aurélien Rousseau, the only Place publique MP to date, sits within the Socialist group, Sacha Houlié indicated that this issue concerning him would be "the subject of future discussions." He noted "differences" with the Socialist Party, for example on pensions : "I don't understand why everyone is so stubborn about the legal retirement age," he said.

This former co-founder of Young People with Macron, elected to the Assembly in the 2017 wave, also predicts the end of Macronism, of which he deplores "a slow and profound drift to the right", "with the end of Emmanuel Macron's mandate".

Asked about the possibility of a single left-wing presidential candidate, including La France Insoumise, Sacha Houlié spoke out against it. "It's like asking today if the center-right MoDem is compatible with the National Rally! The answer is no."