The return to Dominique's policy of Vilepin, the former prime minister who leads the criticism of Israel on the French right

“Gaza is the greatest scandal in history, I do not dare to look for comparisons … and nobody talks about it in this country.” Just a year ago, in September 2024, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin was outraged in the French public radio microphones of the lack of reactions to the damages inflicted by the Israeli army in the strip. “The bodies made pieces. The hearts made pieces. The souls made pieces. The heads made pieces.”

A few weeks later, in the popular talk show Public television What an era!defended at the maximum hearing the need and importance of recognition of the Palestinian state, long before Emmanuel Macron decided to take the step, while warning about the risk of famine among the population. “We are in a situation in which we have no right to indifference. France has to be faithful to its principles, starting with international law. Is Israel respecting international law? The answer is no.”

Since then, excerpts from the interventions of the former French Foreign Affairs – Pedagogy and Vehemence – Meclage – have become viral, shared even by deputies of the New Progressive Coalition Parties Popular Front.

From Vilpan, historical figure on the right, it is one of the most critical voices with the lack of action of France and Europe to press the Israel government. A few days ago, after the measures announced by the Government of Pedro Sánchez, he put Spain as an example. “I want France to be more active, to take more initiatives: to suspend – with the rest of Europeans – the association agreement, with Israel, to take supplementary measures of embargo, as Spain has done. Today is Spain who saves the honor of Europe in that region, and not France,” he said a few days ago in an interview in France Info.

In March, a Cluster 17 survey for Marianne magazineI placed it as the second most popular political personality in France. At 71, from Vilepin is a member of the same generation as Michel Barnier, François Bayrou or Jean-Luc Mélenchon. However, unlike these, it had remained relatively absent from the political scene for almost 15 years. His reappearance is partly explained by his experience of experienced diplomat, in an increasingly anxious international context.

“The return to power of Donald Trump and his threats to Europe have created a kind of nostalgia for the man who delivered that speech at the UN (in 2003), the man who had the value of saying no to the United States on the eve of the Second Gulf War,” explains Jean-Yves Dormagen, Professor of Political Science at the University of Montpellier and founder of the Cluster Laboratory 17. “That speech became A reference point, included for many young people. ”

On the other hand, Dominique's positions from Vilpan on Gaza have also played an important role, “in a context in which the severity of the humanitarian situation is increasingly evident,” adds the political scientist. “Through the positions he has adopted, he has moved away much from the conservative right and has earned the sympathy of some moderate and the left. That is one of his great buzas: it gives the impression of being a free man, with firm convictions.”

Appreciated on the left and center

Supported by these popularity figures, the one who was Prime Minister of Jacques Chirac (2005- 2007) soup the idea of ​​launching a presidential candidacy. “It is not just about being able, but also to maintain a commitment to the French in terms of being able to respond to their expectations, to their difficulties,” he said a few months ago in an interview in BFMTV.

However, there are many doubts about whether what polls point could really translate into votes. In particular, because much of the sympathies generated by Vilpan are on the left, far from his political family. In addition to their positions on Palestine, progressive voters also remember that it was one of the few conservative politicians who defended that Macron should appoint a progressive government in 2024, since the new popular front had been the force with more seats. Thus, a recent IFOP survey aimed a popular 18 points higher among left -wing supporters than among those of the right.

Through the positions he has adopted, he has moved away much from the conservative right and has earned the sympathy of some moderate and left

“To convince a part of this electorate will be obviously difficult for Dominique de Villepin; it enjoys great popularity among the leftist electorate, however he perceives him as a right-wing politician and, for the moment, he does not make him his first electoral option,” says Jean-Yves Dormogen. However, the political scientist also points out that former prime minister enjoys great sympathy in moderate segments of both the center -left and the center. “These groups are very disappointed by macronism and relatively politically orphans. They have a hard time finding an offer that corresponds to them. And, as politics has a horror of vacuum, it is not entirely impossible for this electorate to end up being attracted by Vilepin's candidacy.”

At the moment, Dominique de Vilepin has already taken several steps towards his participation in the next presidential election, scheduled for 2027. Late of the candidacy, has launched a new party, France Humaniste and published a book, The power to say no. Even if not participating, his support for a candidate in the saturated center -right space (Edouard Philippe, Gabriel Attal, François Bayrou) could be decisive.

In his book, De Vilepin argues that three possible paths open before France: “a socialism of radicality that wants to unravel everything and then replant it”, “a reductionist nationalism” and “the gaullism of the 21st century”, a renewed current that he himself aspires to embody. And he affirms that one of the objectives of his return to the political scene is that the French do not see “trapped in an election between the radicalism of France Insumisa and that of Le Pen.”

Experience

As a result of the great schools of the French elite, he is a member of the Galouzeau family of Vilepin, exponent of the high French bourgeoisie (more than a dozen their ancestors were awarded the Legion of Honor, including military, diplomatic deputies or business leaders).

After 15 years in various diplomatic positions, mainly in Africa, he was part of the conservative governments under the presidency of Chirac, first as general secretary of the Presidency, then as Interior Minister, after exterior and, finally, Prime Minister.

Two moments mark his political life: the aforementioned speech against Iraq's invasion and Chirac's decision to advance elections in 1997, a disaster for the right of which he is considered the first responsible. In 2007, he was one of the main candidates to take over from Jacques Chirac as leader of the French right, but his first attempt to reach the presidency ended in a sound failure.

“Tragic drift” on the right

De Vilepin tried to embody a moderate alternative to Nicolas Sarkozy, with which he starred in a bitter rivalry, a right without the excesses of ultraliberalism and the emphasis on the speech of insecurity that dominated the campaign of the former president. But, quickly distanced in the polls and without achieving the necessary sponsorships, the few perspectives of success forced him to resign.

“Since I left Matignon (residence of the French prime minister) in 2007, I had 18 years to reflect, learn lessons and forget all personal pride and ambition,” he said in an interview with The Parisian.

Often on the loser side of the internal wars, in 2012 he left giving a slam of a match that was still called Union for a popular movement, denouncing his right. In fact, if there is a place where the return of a presidential adventure for Dominique de Villepin creates skepticism – and even hostility – is in its former political family, the right that the Republicans represents today.

He, who was former Minister of the Interior (2004-2005), now points to the current president of the party, Bruno Retilleau, for a new turn of the formation, a “tragic drift” towards the positions of the ultra-rightist Marine Le Pen, particularly in terms of immigration and security. “I am not a supporter of exaggerations, neither in security nor in budget, but of a policy of balance and moderation,” says Dominique de Villepin.