Darmanin, potential successor to Macron, makes pitch to working class

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin staged his first rally on Sunday with an appeal to working class voters in what political opponents saw as the
start of the race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron.
The constitution bars Macron from running for a third term and potential candidates in the centre-right camp – including Darmanin, but also former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire – are already positioning themselves for the 2027 ballot.
Darmanin, a tough-talking former conservative who has been charged with maintaining order in a country regularly beset by protests, is making it increasingly clear he is eyeing the next presidential election.
On Sunday, he gathered about 100 lawmakers and a dozen cabinet colleagues in his constituency of Tourcoing, a working class town in France’s northern rust belt.