François Hollande, the former president of France, has not yet decided whether he will run in the 2027 presidential election. The Corrèze deputy has ruled out participating in the socialist primary set for October but has remained unclear about his potential candidacy. Some members of the Socialist Party (PS) have criticized his approach, worried it might weaken the party’s chances in the upcoming election. Although Hollande has opted not to join the left-wing primary, he has not completely stepped away from the presidential race. On September 3, Hollande released a 300-page book titled Unir. Nouveau monde, nouvelle gauche, which outlines more than 80 policy proposals. This event served as a platform for a media tour that has taken on a campaign-like appearance. Hollande has remained vague about his potential candidacy for the 2027 elections. “I do not need to be a candidate in an internal process when I have been President,” he said. He confirmed he would not take part in the PS and Place publique primary scheduled for October, which currently includes Jérôme Guedj, Philippe Brun, Ségolène Royal, Olivier Faure, and Raphaël Glucksmann (Karim Bouamrane has also refused to participate in this primary). “I am not a presidential candidate today, so why would I go to a primary where there are only candidates,” he said on Wednesday, September 2, to the microphone of France Inter. Hollande reiterated his position on Twitter on September 2, 2026, stating, “I am not a candidate today. My calendar is the end of the year. If the winner of the primary creates the necessary momentum to win the presidential election, why would I interfere?” His schedule includes events up to the end of the year. During his visit to the 80th edition of the Châlon-en-Champagne fair on Thursday, the deputy was asked about 2027. “I am a visitor to the fair. I came here when I was a candidate in 2011, it was an important moment [...] I have come back very regularly. So do not think that every visit to Châlon is a declaration of candidacy,” Hollande joked. On France 3 Grand Est, he clarified: “If I run, it will be at the right time. I am a former president, I know what a presidential campaign is and it is long. [...] I will announce my decision at the end of December.” Gulsen Yildirim, an opposition member in Limoges and co-president of the National Council of the Socialist Party, urged the former president to first run in the primary if he wants to represent the socialist camp in 2027. “Once we have selected our candidate, we really need to be in the dynamic of convincing the French,” said the socialist on the set of France 3 Limousin’s 19/20 program on Sunday, August 30. “If the idea is to say that the person who has been selected collapses and we replace them, it is really the strategy of defeat.” This strategy is not convincing for some party members, although others are less surprised by the risk Hollande might take. “His thing is the mouse hole. He has always believed in his lucky star,” analyzes European deputy François Kalfon in HuffPost. Whether Hollande’s intuition will lead him to declare his candidacy remains uncertain. It will be necessary to wait until the end of the year to know.