France has set the first round of its next presidential election for April 18, 2027, with a run-off scheduled for May 2, according to AFP.
Sources told the wire agency that the timetable would be formally approved on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers, confirming local media reports.
The election will determine the successor to President Emmanuel Macron, who is serving his second and final term in office.
Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Rally (RN) views the election as its strongest opportunity yet to take power.
Opinion polls have repeatedly suggested the far right could lead the first round of voting, although it remains unclear who the party’s candidate will be.
Le Pen hopes to stand for president for a fourth time after finishing third in 2012 and reaching the run-off against Macron in both 2017 and 2022.
Her candidacy depends on the outcome of an appeals court ruling due on July 7 regarding allegations in a fake-jobs case involving the European Parliament.
Under France’s constitution, the presidential election must be held between 20 and 35 days before the end of a president’s five-year term.
Current polling for France’s 2027 presidential election shows Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally, as frontrunner.
The 30-year-old is polling around 34 to 36 percent in the first round and is currently projected to beat most rivals in a runoff, including former prime minister Edouard Philippe. Bardella is widely seen as the political heir to Marine Le Pen.
Philippe, who leads the centrist party Horizons, remains one of the strongest alternatives to the far right, polling in the mid-to-high teens.
Meanwhile, veteran left-wing figure Jean-Luc Mélenchon of La France Insoumise has gained ground in some polls, reaching around 13 to 16 percent, though analysts say it remains too early to determine whether he can build enough broader support to seriously challenge for the presidency.
