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Raphaël Glucksmann

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Raphaël Glucksmann
Official portrait, 2024
Member of the European Parliament
France
Incumbent
Assumed office
2 July 2019
Special Adviser to the President of Georgia
In office
2009–2012
PresidentMikheil Saakashvili
Personal details
Born (1979-10-15) 15 October 1979 (age 47)
Boulogne-Billancourt, France
PartyPP (since 2018)
Other political
affiliations
AL (2006–2007)
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 2009; div. 2014)​

​
(m. 2015)​
[citation needed]
Children2
Parent(s)André Glucksmann (father)
Françoise Glucksmann (mother)
RelativesJeannette Colombel (maternal grandmother)
Rubin Glucksmann (paternal grandfather)
Ghassan Salamé (father-in-law)
EducationSciences Po

Raphaël Glucksmann (French: [ʁafaɛl ɡlyksman]; born 15 October 1979)[1] is a French politician. Since 2019, he has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP), within the S&D parliamentary Group, being the lead candidate for the PS-PP alliance in 2019 and 2024. He is the co-president of the political party Place Publique.

On 23 August 2026, he announced his candidacy for the 2027 French presidential election. On October 11, he won the Socialist Party primary and became the party's official candidate.

Early life and career

Glucksmann was born in Boulogne-Billancourt.[1] His mother was Françoise Glucksmann (née Villette), daughter of philosopher Jeannette Colombel. His father was the philosopher André Glucksmann, a strong advocate for human rights, particularly against the totalitarian regimes of Vietnam and the USSR. Glucksmann's paternal grandfather, Rubin Glucksmann, born in Czernowitz, Austria-Hungary (present-day Chernivtsi, Ukraine), had been a spy for the Soviet Union during the interwar period. He attended Sciences Po.[2]

Between 2005 and 2012, Raphaël Glucksmann was an adviser to the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili. Zguladze was a special adviser to President Saakashvili from 2009 to 2012 and later served as First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine from 2014 to 2016.

Political career

Beginnings

In 2018, Glucksmann founded the centre-left political party Place Publique.[3]

Member of the European Parliament, 2019–present

On 26 May 2019, Place Publique and the French Socialist Party presented a joint list at the European Parliament election, with Glucksmann as the head,[4] under the slogan, "Envie d'Europe, écologique et sociale".[5] The list obtained a total of 6.2%, thereby securing the election of six members to the European Parliament: Glucksmann, Sylvie Guillaume, Eric Andrieu, Aurore Lalucq, Pierre Larrouturou, Nora Mebarek.[6]

In Parliament, Glucksmann has served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and its Subcommittee on Human Rights. Since 2020, he has also chaired the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union.[7][8]

In addition to his committee assignments, Glucksmann is a member of the Responsible Business Conduct Working Group[9] and the Spinelli Group.[10]

In his parliamentary work, Glucksmann has focused attention on the Xinjiang internment camps, for which he has been sanctioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China[11][12] in 2021. The sanctions were lifted by China in April 2025 following negotiations with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.[13]

Glucksmann has led public campaigns to raise awareness and enact legislation to hold companies accountable for labour exploitation and forced labour in the fashion supply chain industry in China.[14]

In March 2024, Glucksmann was one of 20 MEPs to be given a "Rising Star" award at The Parliament Magazine's annual MEP Awards.[15]

2024 European elections

In the 2024 European elections, Glucksmann led the list "Réveiller l'Europe", an alliance of his own Place Publique party and the historical Socialist Party.[16] That list obtained 13.83% of the national votes,[17] a high score compared to the 6.19% obtained in 2019. This result made this list the third nation-wide (after those led by Bardella and Hayer), which confirmed the increasing prominence of Raphaël Glucksmann as a national political figure.[18]

Presidential candidacy

On 23 August 2026, he announced his candidacy in the Socialist presidential primary for the 2027 French presidential election.[19] Glucksmann won with 66.13% of the vote.[20]

Political positions

In May 2021, Glucksmann joined a group of 39 mostly Green Party lawmakers from the European Parliament who in a letter urged the leaders of Germany, France and Italy not to support Arctic LNG 2, a $21 billion Russian Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, due to climate change concerns.[21]

In November 2021, Glucksmann led a group of seven members of the European Parliament to Taiwan to send a strong signal in support of the self-ruling island, despite a threat of retaliation from China.[22] During this visit, the delegation stated to President Tsai Ing-wen: "Europe is standing with you." Glucksmann has been a strong proponent for deepened cooperation with Taiwan.[23]

From 2019, Glucksmann was a persistent leader in the social media campaign to portray China's treatment of Uyghurs as a genocide; as of 2021, nearly half of the posts on his official Instagram profile concerned that issue.[24] In 2021, Glucksmann declared that China's treatment of the Uyghurs was "the worst crime against humanity of our time".[25] That same year, he accused German companies of acting as "ambassadors of Chinese interest".[26] In January 2022, his persistent agitation was cited by Macron as having influenced French parliament to pass its motion in 2022 to recognize China's treatment of the Uyghurs as a 'genocide'.[27] That same year, he declared that France's decision to sent two athletes to the Beijing Olympic Winter Games was a "total shame".[28]

In March 2024, he refused to use the term "genocide" in regards to the treatment of Palestinians by Israel during the Gaza war by claiming to be "extremely cautious about the term's usage". Glucksmann stated he would defer to the position of the International Criminal Court, which accuses Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but not genocide.[29] He has nevertheless denounced the "carnage" in Gaza as well as the blockade.[30] In April 2024, he said that Sciences Po Paris administration had the right to forcibly expel pro-Palestinian students from their premises during their occupation.[31]

In March 2026, Glucksmann accused Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of La France Insoumise, of antisemitism for pronouncing his name as "Glucksman". The correct pronunciation of Glucksmann's name is [glyksman], yet J.-L. Mélenchon distorted it in a public speech, to [glyksmɒ̃],[nb 1] in a move that was widely perceived as a deliberate attempt at highlighting the name's Jewish origin.[32] This came a few days after Mélenchon had done a similar innuendo about the name Epstein, already raising concerns about antisemitic motivations.[33] In the aftermath, Glucksmann declared that Melenchon was "the Jean-Marie Le Pen of our era",[34] resulting in Mélenchon's public apology.[35]

Glucksmann describes himself as pro-Europe and pro-Ukraine.[36] He supports state interventionism, industrial planning, limited immigration and 10-months obligatory civil service.[2]

Personal life

Glucksmann was married to Georgian and Ukrainian politician Eka Zguladze until 2014. They had a child in 2011.[37] He also has son, Gabriel, born 12 March 2017, with journalist Léa Salamé.[38]

Publications

  • Je vous parle de liberté, with Mikheil Saakashvili, Paris, Hachette Livre, 2008, ISBN 978-2012376489.
  • Mai 68 expliqué à Nicolas Sarkozy, with André Glucksmann, 2008, ISBN 978-2207260074.
  • Génération gueule de bois, Manuel de lutte contre les réacs, Allary Éditions, 2015, ISBN 978-2370730404.
  • Notre France. Dire et aimer ce que nous sommes, Allary Éditions, 2016.
  • Les Enfants du vide. De l'impasse individualiste au réveil citoyen, Allary Éditions, 2018, ISBN 978-2370731623.
  • Lettre à la génération qui va tout changer, Allary Éditions, 2021, ISBN 9782370731418.

Notes

  1. ↑ French makes a difference between the nasal sound /ɑ̃/ (typically spelled -an) – like the sound in French words like plan [plɒ̃], temps [tɒ̃] – and non-nasal vowels /an/ (often spelled -ann or -ane) – as in the French words plane [plan] or tanne [tan].

References

  1. 1 2 "Raphaël Glucksmann | Director, writer". IMDb. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 Sage, Adam (24 August 2026). "The grandson of a Soviet spy who wants to be president of France". www.thetimes.com.
  3. ↑ "Européennes : Place publique, le pari citoyen de Raphaël Glucksmann". Le Parisien. 29 October 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  4. ↑ "Européennes, le PS se range derrière Raphaël Glucksmann". La Croix. 16 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  5. ↑ Official homepage of the list "Envie d'Europe, écologique et sociale" Archived 19 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ European elections 2019: official results Archived 4 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Members of the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union Archived 12 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine European Parliament, press release of 9 July 2020.
  8. ↑ Clothilde Goujard (25 January 2022), Lawmakers want to step up fight against foreign meddling in EU affairs Archived 28 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine Politico Europe.
  9. ↑ Members Archived 23 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine Responsible Business Conduct Working Group.
  10. ↑ Board & Members Archived 5 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Spinelli Group.
  11. ↑ Rosman, Rebecca (1 October 2020). "One French politician fights to expose China's Uighur concentration camps". Public Radio International. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  12. ↑ Irish, John (23 March 2021). Evans, Catherine (ed.). "France summons Chinese envoy over 'unacceptable' insults". Reuters. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021. The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese officials on Monday for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, in the first such coordinated Western action against Beijing under new U.S President Joe Biden. In retaliation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry sanctioned several European nationals, including French Member of the European Parliament Raphaël Glucksmann.
  13. ↑ "The European Parliament says China has lifted sanctions it imposed on 5 EU lawmakers in 2021". AP News. 30 April 2025. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  14. ↑ Biondi, Annachiara (3 August 2020). "The EU's fight against fashion's forced labour supply chain". Vogue Business.
  15. ↑ "MEP Awards 2024 – The Rising Stars". The Parliament Magazine. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  16. ↑ "Européennes: Glucksmann veut "réveiller l'Europe" pour son premier meeting près de Toulouse". L'Express (in French). 24 March 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  17. ↑ "Publication des candidatures et des résultats aux élections Européennes 2024". Ministère de l'intérieur. 10 June 2024.
  18. ↑ "European elections 2024: Socialist Raphaël Glucksmann wins his gamble, coming in third place". LeMonde.fr. 10 June 2024.
  19. ↑ Cassini, Sandrine (23 August 2026). "Raphaël Glucksmann annonce être candidat à l'élection présidentielle dans le cadre de la primaire organisée avec le Parti socialiste". Le Monde. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "Raphaël Glucksmann wins French center-left's presidential primary". Le Monde. 11 October 2026. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
  21. ↑ Kate Abnett and Simon Jessop (19 May 2021), EU lawmakers urge France, Germany, Italy to ditch Arctic LNG 2 support Archived 3 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
  22. ↑ Sarah Anne Aarup and Stuart Lau (2 November 2021), MEPs set to land in Taiwan on Tuesday, defying Beijing Archived 3 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine Politico Europe.
  23. ↑ Qin, Amy (10 November 2021). "As Distrust of China Grows, Europe May Inch Closer to Taiwan". The New York Times.
  24. ↑ Charat, Salome (9 December 2021). "The agenda-setting role of Instagram: a case study of Raphael Glucksmann's online campaign to promote the Uyghur cause" (Dissertação de mestrado, Iscte thesis). Instituto Universitário de Lisboa: Repositório do Iscte.
  25. ↑ "Raphael Glucksmann (@rglucks1) on X". X (formerly Twitter). 17 December 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
  26. ↑ Basu, Zachary (23 November 2021). "Top EU China critic: German companies act as "lobbyists" for Beijing". Axios. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
  27. ↑ "French lawmakers officially recognise China's treatment of Uyghurs as 'genocide'". France 24. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
  28. ↑ "Activists say Olympic diplomatic boycotts 'simply not enough,' call for further action against China". Good Morning America. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
  29. ↑ "Raphaël Glucksmann's refusal to use the word 'genocide' divides France's left". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  30. ↑ "Gaza: Raphaël Glucksmann refuse le terme de génocide mais dénonce un "carnage"". BFMTV (in French).
  31. ↑ "Guerre en Ukraine: «Il y a un décalage entre les mots et les actes» de Macron, dénonce Glucksmann" (in French). Le Figaro. 26 April 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  32. ↑ "Raphaël Glucksmann dit que Jean-Luc Mélenchon, qui a plaisanté sur la prononciation de son nom, joue avec « les pires codes de l'extrême droite » et de « l'antisémitisme »". lemonde.fr (in French). 2 March 2026. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  33. ↑ "Les propos de Jean-Luc Mélenchon sur "Epstein" ont "une résonnance antisémite", note l'historien Christophe Prochasson". radiofrance.fr (in French). 27 February 2026. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  34. ↑ "Mélenchon est devenu « le Jean-Marie Le Pen de notre époque », fustige Glucksmann après une plaisanterie sur son nom de famille". lanouvellerepublique.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2 March 2026. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
  35. ↑ "« Désolé » : Mélenchon fait son mea culpa après avoir « déformé par erreur » le nom de Glucksmann". lopinion.fr (in French). 2 March 2026. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  36. ↑ Chrisafis, Angelique (12 October 2026). "French centre left must wage 'existential battle' to prevent far right winning presidency". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  37. ↑ "Dans la famille Glucksmann, le fils est conseiller de président" [In the Glucksmann family, the son is an advisor to the president]. Le Monde (in French). 5 October 2011. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  38. ↑ Garin, Clément (14 March 2017). "Léa Salamé a accouché : découvrez le joli prénom de son bébé". Télé Star. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
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