4 takeaways from POLITICO’s interviews with French presidential candidates Le Pen, Mélenchon, Attal

PARIS — Top contenders for the 2027 presidential election in France laid out their vision for Europe, Ukraine and relationships with fellow capitals at POLITICO’s first Playbook Paris Live summit on Thursday. The event gathered far-right leader Marine Le Pen — who is topping the polls and appears all but certain to make it to the contest’s second-round runoff — far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Gabriel Attal, a centrist former prime minister. Attal came out as a strong advocate for increased support for Ukraine. The 37-year-old said backing Ukraine was an “investment for us” rather than a humanitarian expense.