Gérald Darmanin and the 2027 presidential election, politics in the style of Jean-Claude Dusse: Guillaume Daret's political editorial

"On a misunderstanding, it could work," says Gérald Darmanin backstage, all smiles. He's not unhappy with this phrase borrowed from the unmissable film Les Bronzés font du ski . A joke that clearly expresses his state of mind less than two years from the next presidential election: he knows that he is not, as it stands, the best placed in the race for the Élysée; but there's no question of letting the slightest mouse hole that might present itself slip through his fingers.

This Tour de France fan also uses the sporting metaphor. "We're in Alpe d'Huez, there are 200km of elevation gain left," he confided a few days ago. "There are some who will be caught doping, there are some who will fall, some will get hit with a water bottle, there's also the guy who will stand in the middle (of the road) and trip (everyone) up."

If Gérald Darmanin is counting on the setbacks of his potential rivals, it's because he is not currently in the leading group. Édouard Philippe and Bruno Retailleau have escaped and taken the lead, as shown by a recent poll by the Ipsos institute for La Tribune Dimanche .

When asked who would make the best President of the Republic in 2027, respondents gave priority to Édouard Philippe (42%), Bruno Retailleau (32%), then clearly behind Gabriel Attal (18%) and finally Gérald Darmanin only 8%.

His obsession, as the son of a cleaning lady, is to embody a working-class France. "Popular," as his political movement is called. He regularly emphasizes that he has one of the smallest holdings in the government, as demonstrated by ministerial statements made public by the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life. He also claims to be a local elected official, a former mayor of Tourcoing. He considers himself the only one in this niche.

To exert influence and attempt to assert himself, Gérald Darmanin will continue to make his mark with shocking proposals on his favorite themes: high-security prisons for drug traffickers, the end of suspended sentences after the excesses surrounding the PSG victory.

But not only that... As evidenced by the conference organized on pensions last week with the movement he founded: he does not want to postpone the retirement age but approves a share of "popular" capitalization. A way of broadening his playing field: as early as March, he had mentioned what looked like a social VAT, the abolition of inheritance tax, and zero-interest loans for French people eligible for social housing.

Also weigh in, so that you can negotiate. Or at least position yourself to become Prime Minister of whoever wins in 2027.