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Ministers, maids and ‘Wolverine’ – Who’s standing in France’s parliamentary elections

France goes to the polls again on Sunday to vote in parliamentary elections, so here's a guide to the big names - and the surprise entries - in the race.

Published: 9 June 2022 13:13 CEST

Ministers, maids and 'Wolverine' - Who's standing in France's parliamentary elections

A man casts his ballot during the second round of the 2017 French parliamentary elections 2017. (Photo by Benjamin CREMEL / AFP)

As France’s parliamentary elections approach, you’ll need to know who is who: some are familiar faces, but there are a few surprises in there. If you are looking to see who is running in your area, you can use this interactive map by Franceinfo:

CARTE. Législatives 2022 : tous les candidats dans toutes les circonscriptionshttps://t.co/3HnKDtpsuD pic.twitter.com/2PyUvhkhtC

— franceinfo (@franceinfo) June 8, 2022

The candidates you might recognise:

Among the candidates, there are several members of the previous government:

Olivier Veran, former Health Minister (Photo by Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)

The former Minister of Health Olivier Véran is running in Isère (Grenoble) in Eastern France. He is still a member of government, currently serving as the Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament and Democratic Life.

Véran is running in a district that voted very strongly in favour of President Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election, but his election could be a reflection of French attitudes towards his handling of the health crisis these last two years.

Former government spokesperson Gabriel Attal (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

The former government spokesman Gabriel Attal, running in Hauts-de-Seine just outside Paris, also hopes to be re-elected.

Since the start of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s tenure, Attal has occupied the post of Minister of Public Action and Accounts. He is expected to perform well in his constituency, with little competition from opposing parties.

Former Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

Former Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer is running in Loiret, near Orléans.

Blanquer is likely to find himself in more difficulty, as his nomination is being contested by another candidate who is also allied with Macron’s coalition. A controversial figure who suffered low approval ratings at the end of his mandate, particularly from teachers, Blanquer is running in a stronghold for Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National party.

Od the current cabinet of 28 ministers, 15 are running in the parliamentary elections.

The below Twitter thread from pollster Mathieu Gallard asseses their chances, based on local and national factors.

🇫🇷🗳️ Un petit aperçu du rapport de force dans les circonscriptions des membres du Gouvernement qui sont candidats aux élections législatives – par ordre protocolaire 👇

— mathieu gallard (@mathieugallard) May 24, 2022

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)

Elisabeth Borne, the new Prime Minister, is a candidate in Calvados, in Normandy, under the banner of Ensemble, Macron’s coalition.

This is the first time she is running in an election – although she has a long career in politics behind her including several stints as a minister, she has always been a ‘technocrat’ appointment – if she fails to win her seat, she will have to leave Matignon “by the republican tradition.”

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)

The Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin is seeking re-election in Tourcoing, close to the Belgian border.

This area is his electoral stronghold – he was mayor of Tourcoing before becoming a minister – but Darmanin has been at the centre of several controversies recently, including his handling of policing problems at the Champions League final in Paris and the swimming pool ‘burkini’ row.

French Minister for Solidarity, Autonomy and Persons with Disabilities Damien Abad (Photo by JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP)

Damien Abad, the Disabilities Minister, will be running in Ain, eastern France. Abad was recently accused of sexual assault by two women. He will also have to contend with a strong opposition candidate, Julien Martinez, representing his former party, Les Républicains.

Other members of Borne’s cabinet running in the parliamentary elections are: health minister Brigitte Bourguignon (Pas-de-Calais), labour minister Olivier Dussopt (Ardèche), environment minister Amélie de Montchalin (Essonne), agriculture minister Marc Fesneau (Loir-et-Cher), public functions minister Stanislas Guérini (Paris), overseas territories minister Yaël Braun-Pivet (Yvelines), Europe minister Clément Beaune (Paris), Economic atractiveness minister Franck Riester (Seine-et-Marne), government spokesman Olivia Grégoire (Paris) and maritime minister Justine Benin (Guadeloupe).

Some familiar faces from France’s recent presidential elections are also running:

French far-right party Reconquete! president Eric Zemmour (Photo by CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP)

On the far-right, there is Éric Zemmour, who will be running in the 4th constituency of the Var, which is in the south near Côte-d’Azur.

Zemmour founded his political party ‘Reconquest,’ and in the first round of the presidential election he won around seven percent of votes cast, though his presence made a mark. According to a recent Ifop poll, Zemmour could make it to the second round this time, but his opponent Sereine Mauborgne, representing Macron’s LREM, is favored to win the election in the end.

Former Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen (L) and her sister Marie-Caroline Le Pen (R) (Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP)

Marine Le Pen, is running for re-election in the 11th constituency of Pas-de-Calais.

After refusing to join with Zemmour’s party in a far-right pact, Le Pen’s Rassemblement National has put up 569 candidates, among them Marine’s sister Marie-Caroline Le Pen, who is running in Hauts-de-Seine.

Other recognisable names running fall under the left alliance la Nupes: Julien Bayou from the Green Party who is running in Paris, and Communist presidential candidate Fabien Roussel who is running in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, located along the Belgian border.

There are also plenty of newcomers to politics who are running for the first time, here are some of the most interesting or recognisable.

Candidate for the left-wing coalition “NUPES” Rachel Keke (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

A former maid at the Ibis hotel in Paris’ 17th arrondisement near Batignolles, Rachel Kéké is running in the 7th district of Val-de-Marne with the left alliance Nupes.

Kéké is known for having organised the Ibis Batignolles hotel maids strike, which lasted 22 months and is considered the longest strike to have taken place in France’s hotel industry. This will be the first time she is a candidate in a political election.

Stéphane Ravacley (R) candidate with NUPES (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

Stéphane Ravacley is a baker who first hit the headlines when he went on a hunger strike to fight to prevent the deportation of his apprentice, Laye Fodé Traoré, who arrived in France as young, undocumented Guinean orphan.

Ravacley also distinguished himself again recently by working to organise a convoy to bring aid to the border between Ukraine and Poland. Now he is the Nupes candidate in Doubs (near Burgundy).

Isabelle Seguin, candidate with LREM (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP)

Former reality TV contestant, Isabelle Seguin, who won the show Koh-Lanta in 2003, will be running with President Macron’s coalition, Ensemble.

A former flight attendant, Seguin has been an activist since 2017 and is now a candidate in Ain, eastern France.

Toulouse’s French fullback Maxime Medard runs with the ball during a rugby match (Photo by Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP)

Toulouse and France rugby player Maxime Médard – known as ‘French Wolverine’ because of his impressive sideburns – will be running as a substitute for Laurence Arribagé in Haute-Garonne, south west France.

Médard, who retires at the end of the 2021/22 season, represents the centre-right Les Républicains.

Former French Prime Minister and candidate Manuel Valls (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)

Finally, France’s former Prime Minister Manuel Valls attempted to represent French citizens abroad in Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Monaco.

French people living abroad vote one week earlier, so we already know that he didn’t make it past the first round.

Valls, who is a dual French-Spanish national, was a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021 and prime minister under François Hollande from 2014-2016. In recent years he has come into the spotlight for making inflammatory statements – like suggesting flattening Marseille.

The noticeable absences

Finally, there are some notable names that are missing from this list.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the third placed presidential candidate and leader the Nupes coalition, is visibly missing from the list of candidates running for the législatives. Melenchon has stated that he hopes to ‘pass the baton‘ to the next generation in his constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille).

However he’s certainly not ruling out a bigger job – the veteran leftist hopes to force Macron into making him Prime Minister if his group can gain a parliamentary majority and force a cohabitation.

Ex presidential candidate and longtime MP Jean Lassalle is not running for re-election.

Which parties are running candidates?

C’est lorsqu’il s’agit de projeter les résultats en nombre de sièges à l’Assemblée nationale que l’écart se creuse
La majorité présidentielle obtiendrait une majorité de sièges (275 à 310), devant la coalition NUPES (170 à 205) pic.twitter.com/oTkMzADLUN

— Ifop Opinion (@IfopOpinion) June 1, 2022

Several parties have created alliances ahead of the parliamentary elections, and agreed not to run candidates against each other.

President Macron’s party LREM is running in an alliance with MoDem (The Democratic Movement) and Horizon (the party founded by ex PM Edouard Philippe) under the name Ensemble.

Meanwhile, the coalition of left-wing parties known as La Nupes, is composed of the hard-left La France Insoumise, the centre-left Parti Socialiste, the Communist party and the Green party.

On the centre-right Les Republicains are running.

Meanwhile, on the far-right the two parties: Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National and Éric Zemmour’s Reconquest party are also running candidates – they have not formed an alliance.

Several smaller parties are also in the mix, as unlike presidential elections there is no requirement for parrainages (endorsements) in order to get on the ballot paper.

These include the Rural Movement (formerly the Hunting, Fishing, Nature and Traditions party), the Animalist Party, the Worker’s Struggle party (led by Nathalie Arthaud in the presidential election), the Pirate Party, the Centrist Alliance, the Solidarity of Regions and People party, the UDI, The Ecologists, the Independent Democratic Workers’ Party, The Patriots, the Republican and Socialist Left, and the Ecology at the Centre party.

Of these, the Animalist Party ahs caused perhaps the biggest buzz, due to their campaign posters which feature a very cute fluffy duckling (although all the party candidates are in fact human).

I wouldn’t buy a used Car off any of them. I’d like to see what the Duckling 🐥 has to offer though, probably be an improvement. pic.twitter.com/JiEojxblfr

— Terry Foreign Migrant in France 🇫🇷🇬🇧 (@TerrySparrow4) June 7, 2022

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Azerbaijan vehemently rejects the accusation it bears responsibility for the riots that have led to the deaths of five people and rattled the Paris government.

But it is just the latest in a litany of tensions between Paris and Baku and not the first time France has accused Azerbaijan of being behind an alleged disinformation campaign.

The riots in New Caledonia, a French territory lying between Australia and Fiji, were sparked by moves to agree a new voting law that supporters of independence from France say discriminates against the indigenous Kanak population.

Paris points to the sudden emergence of Azerbaijani flags alongside Kanak symbols in the protests, while a group linked to the Baku authorities is openly backing separatists while condemning Paris.

“This isn’t a fantasy. It’s a reality,” interior minister Gérald Darmanin told television channel France 2 when asked if Azerbaijan, China and Russia were interfering in New Caledonia.

“I regret that some of the Caledonian pro-independence leaders have made a deal with Azerbaijan. It’s indisputable,” he alleged.

But he added: “Even if there are attempts at interference… France is sovereign on its own territory, and so much the better”.

“We completely reject the baseless accusations,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry spokesman Ayhan Hajizadeh said.

“We refute any connection between the leaders of the struggle for freedom in Caledonia and Azerbaijan.”

In images widely shared on social media, a reportage broadcast Wednesday on the French channel TF1 showed some pro-independence supporters wearing T-shirts adorned with the Azerbaijani flag.

Tensions between Paris and Baku have grown in the wake of the 2020 war and 2023 lightning offensive that Azerbaijan waged to regain control of its breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region from ethnic Armenian separatists.

France is a traditional ally of Christian Armenia, Azerbaijan’s neighbour and historic rival, and is also home to a large Armenian diaspora.

Darmanin said Azerbaijan – led since 2003 by President Ilham Aliyev, who succeeded his father Heydar – was a “dictatorship”.

On Wednesday, the Paris government also banned social network TikTok from operating in New Caledonia.

Tiktok, whose parent company is Chinese, has been widely used by protesters. Critics fear it is being employed to spread disinformation coming from foreign countries.

Azerbaijan invited separatists from the French territories of Martinique, French Guiana, New Caledonia and French Polynesia to Baku for a conference in July 2023.

The meeting saw the creation of the “Baku Initiative Group”, whose stated aim is to support “French liberation and anti-colonialist movements”.

The group published a statement this week condemning the French parliament’s proposed change to New Caledonia’s constitution, which would allow outsiders who moved to the territory at least 10 years ago the right to vote in its elections.

Pro-independence forces say that would dilute the vote of Kanaks, who make up about 40 percent of the population.

“We stand in solidarity with our Kanak friends and support their fair struggle,” the Baku Initiative Group said.

Raphael Glucksmann, the lawmaker heading the list for the French Socialists in June’s European Parliament elections, told Public Senat television that Azerbaijan had made “attempts to interfere… for months”.

He said the underlying problem behind the unrest was a domestic dispute over election reform, not agitation fomented by “foreign actors”.

But he accused Azerbaijan of “seizing on internal problems.”

A French government source, who asked not to be named, said pro-Azerbaijani social media accounts had on Wednesday posted an edited montage purporting to show two white police officers with rifles aimed at dead Kanaks.

“It’s a pretty massive campaign, with around 4,000 posts generated by (these) accounts,” the source told AFP.

“They are reusing techniques already used during a previous smear campaign called Olympia.”

In November, France had already accused actors linked to Azerbaijan of carrying out a disinformation campaign aimed at damaging its reputation over its ability to host the Olympic Games in Paris. Baku also rejected these accusations.