Raphaël Glucksmann

Raphaël Glucksmann's opponents regularly accuse him of having supported Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. It is established that he attended the major Bercy rally on 29 April 2007 with his father André Glucksmann, a declared Sarkozy supporter.

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Directly implicated

Raphaël Glucksmann's relationship with journalist Léa Salamé has repeatedly raised public questions of media ethics. In 2019, when he became lead European election candidate, Salamé temporarily withdrew from political programmes on France Inter and France 2. In 2026, she again withdrew from broadcasting following the official announcement of Glucksmann's presidential candidacy.

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In 2025, a Blast investigation reported allegations by former Place publique officials and activists concerning the opacity of its ethics council, the absence of debate and exclusions described as 'purges'. In March 2026, following the first round of municipal elections, the party suspended 19 candidates pending expulsion because they appeared on lists that had merged with LFI. Glucksmann publicly defended the policy, declaring that an alliance with LFI was 'unacceptable'.

In preparation for the 2027 presidential election, Raphaël Glucksmann organised approximately three fundraising dinners a month with entrepreneurs and business figures. Le Parisien reported that approximately 200 people had been met in this context, with donations described as voluntary and subject to statutory limits.

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Directly implicated

In response to Donald Trump's threats concerning Greenland, Raphaël Glucksmann proposed activating the European Union's anti-coercion instrument, excluding US companies from public contracts and using Dutch company ASML's position in semiconductor manufacturing equipment as leverage against Washington.

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Allegations

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Directly implicated

In May 2025, Raphaël Glucksmann told Le Monde: 'I will not participate in a primary.' On 26 January 2026, when asked about the united left's primary scheduled for October, he repeated that he would not take part and said he 'would not change his mind'. Yet on 23 August 2026, announcing his presidential candidacy, he confirmed that he would participate in the primary organised with the Socialist Party.

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Personally implicated

An internal working document prepared by Raphaël Glucksmann's team for the presidential election listed among 'targets to avoid' people aged 18–25, those earning less than €1,500, single-parent families, certain suburbs and other working-class groups. Its leak fuelled accusations of a 'Macronist' strategy and abandonment of working-class voters.

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A wholly fabricated video impersonating media outlet Blast falsely accused Léa Salamé of bribing journalists to promote Raphaël Glucksmann's candidacy. French authorities attributed the operation to Storm-1516, a network which they linked to Russian military intelligence. Paris prosecutors opened an investigation, and Glucksmann subsequently confirmed that he had filed a complaint.

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Protagonist is the victim

In September 2026, Raphaël Glucksmann refused to change the scope of the PS–Place publique primary to allow François Ruffin or Marine Tondelier, among others, to participate. Olivier Faure supported broadening participation, and approximately one hundred Socialist officials and elected representatives signed an open letter to that effect. Ruffin accused Glucksmann of being 'afraid of voters' and criticised the €10–15 participation fee proposed for non-members.

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Directly implicated

Raphaël Glucksmann claimed that former RT France director Xenia Fedorova was not a journalist but a 'Russian agent' and argued that she should be 'taken off air', accusing media outlets owned by the Bolloré group of providing a platform for Putin's propaganda by inviting her. The statement renewed debate over freedom of expression, foreign propaganda and Fedorova's status.

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Personally implicated

Opponents from LFI and later Renaissance circulated an excerpt from the documentary series Succession as though Raphaël Glucksmann had said: 'If I had told you the whole truth [about pensions], I would have wrecked my campaign.' This fuelled accusations of insincerity and was repeated by Guillaume Kasbarian, among others.

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Raphaël Glucksmann indicated that he wanted to take part only in the public broadcaster's debate scheduled for 6 October before the first round of the social-democratic primary, whereas his rivals called for three debates on TF1, BFMTV and France 2. Jérôme Guedj, Philippe Brun and associates of Olivier Faure accused him of seeking an overly restricted primary and avoiding confrontation.

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Directly implicated

Raphaël Glucksmann is regularly accused politically of bourgeois privilege or social disconnection, given his status as philosopher André Glucksmann's son, his Parisian childhood surrounded by prominent intellectuals and an electorate perceived as urban and university-educated. Rivals on the left have explicitly used his 'family background' and 'upper-bourgeois' image against him.

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Political responsibility

Raphaël Glucksmann condemned Hamas as a terrorist organisation and, at the same time, strongly criticised the Israeli government's actions in Gaza. In March 2024, he rejected the term "genocide" while speaking of "carnage" and "mass crimes", calling for a ceasefire, the lifting of the blockade and the release of hostages. He subsequently supported suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement and sanctions against Israeli officials.

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Personally implicated

During 'La Grande confrontation' on LCI, the debate between Raphaël Glucksmann and Éric Zemmour escalated into heated exchanges on immigration, identity and violence. Glucksmann accused Zemmour of exploiting victims; Zemmour accused him of ignoring them. David Pujadas stood up and repeatedly intervened to restore calm and allow both men to respond.

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Directly implicated

In April 2024, Viginum warned Raphaël Glucksmann that he was being targeted by a disinformation campaign originating from pro-Chinese accounts, which portrayed him, in particular, as a CIA agent or a "Trojan horse" for the CIA and the United States.

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Protagonist is the victim

On 26 April 2024, during pro-Palestinian mobilisation at Sciences Po, Raphaël Glucksmann stated that management had the right to decide to evacuate the occupied campus. He subsequently changed his position after seeing footage of the riot police operation, clarifying that students should not be expelled simply because they were demonstrating.

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Personally implicated

Raphaël Glucksmann was forced to leave the 1 May demonstration in Saint-Étienne amid insults, shouting and paint being thrown. He subsequently implicated activists from La France insoumise, Révolution permanente and the Young Communists and condemned a smear campaign which, in his view, had prepared the ground for this violence.

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Protagonist is the victim

Following the 2024 European elections and dissolution of the National Assembly, Raphaël Glucksmann set several conditions for left-wing unity, stating that "we are not going to recreate Nupes". He demanded support for European integration and Ukraine, repeal of several Macron reforms and rejection of aggressive political conduct, while opposing Jean-Luc Mélenchon becoming Prime Minister.

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Directly implicated

The CNCCFP approved the accounts of Glucksmann's 2024 European election list following adjustments and a reduction. The decision noted, in particular, €5,191 in omitted expenditure and missing declarations confirming that parliamentary allowances or benefits had not been used directly or indirectly to finance the campaign. Public reimbursement was set at €4,144,482.

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Directly implicated

Official CNCCFP documentation showed €6.94 million in loans obtained from political parties to finance Glucksmann's 2024 European election campaign, together with €403,000 in loans from private individuals. The amounts actually recognised as the candidate's contribution were specified in the decision.

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Directly implicated

After joining the New Popular Front, Raphaël Glucksmann said his telephone number was being circulated in Telegram groups he described as the 'Jewish far right' and that he was receiving 'dozens of calls and text messages an hour', including messages saying 'be cursed'.

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Reported by the press

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Protagonist is the victim

Left-wing activists and opponents strongly criticised several votes cast by Raphaël Glucksmann during the European Parliament's resolution of 19 October 2023 on Israel and Gaza, particularly his opposition to certain amendments calling for immediate sanctions against Israel. The episode fuelled accusations that his stance was too favourable to the Israeli government.

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Directly implicated

China sanctioned Raphaël Glucksmann alongside several other MEPs in March 2021 in retaliation for European sanctions against Chinese officials concerning human rights violations against Uyghurs.

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Protagonist is the victim

The campaign accounts of the list headed by Raphaël Glucksmann in the 2019 European elections received an ARM decision: approval following adjustments with a reduction. After verification, the CNCCFP recognised €4,714,902 in expenditure and €4,734,411 in receipts, with lump-sum reimbursement of €4,138,174. Glucksmann's administrative request for reconsideration was rejected.

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Directly implicated

Socialist Party accounts showed €4,138,174 in loans granted to the European election campaign led by Raphaël Glucksmann. The CNCCFP noted that the appendix initially filed by the PS had not properly detailed the identity of loan beneficiaries before the party supplied the requested information.

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A few months after Place publique was founded, economist Thomas Porcher left the movement over disagreement with its alliance with the Socialist Party. Co-founder Claire Nouvian subsequently departed, denouncing leadership problems, internal struggles, careerism and betrayal of promises of political renewal.

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Allegations

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The CNCCFP found that posters for Glucksmann's list had been displayed outside authorised locations. It considered the irregularity insufficiently serious to justify rejecting the accounts but reduced public reimbursement by €5,000, as it did for the lists led by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan and Benoît Hamon.

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Directly implicated

Eight months after taking charge of Nouveau Magazine littéraire, Raphaël Glucksmann left the publication following a dispute with majority shareholder Claude Perdriel. Glucksmann maintained that his critical stance towards Emmanuel Macron was central to his removal; Perdriel and other executives also cited the need to preserve pluralism and denied any pressure from the Élysée.

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Direct responsibility

Raphaël Glucksmann served for several years as an adviser to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, mainly on foreign policy and European integration. The period was marked by rapid modernisation but also authoritarian abuses and serious human rights violations, particularly the prison violence and torture scandal revealed in 2012.

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Close aide

In the mid-2000s, Raphaël Glucksmann contributed to the journal Le Meilleur des mondes, an editorial continuation of the Cercle de l'Oratoire. Le Monde described this network at the time as an attempt at French neoconservatism, broadly pro-American. Glucksmann appeared in early issues and notably conducted an interview with Václav Havel.

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Directly implicated