2012 campaign for president In June 2011, he was chosen by the
New Anticapitalist Party as its candidate for the
2012 presidential election. Media noted that he was virtually unknown to the public, as well as that he might find it difficult to succeed previous candidate
Olivier Besancenot, a well recognised figure popular beyond the party itself. He would, in addition, have to contend with divisions within the party over whether to engage more with the
Left Front, with an aim to unify the political forces on the left of the centre-left
Socialist Party. Obtaining 1.15% of the vote, finishing eighth out of ten, Poutou called upon voters to "vote against
Sarkozy" in the second round. The press partly explained his low result by the fact that
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of the
Left Front, had attracted the bulk of voters on the "left of the left". Poutou explained that, while he hoped Hollande would win rather than Sarkozy, the New Anticapitalist Party would have to help build an "opposition on the left" to the new government.
2017 campaign for president On 20 March 2016, Poutou was nominated by the New Anticapitalist Party as its candidate in the
2017 presidential election. In a televised debate on 4 April 2017, he denounced "corrupt politicians" and advocated for lower salaries for elected officials. His remarks earned him the applause of fellow candidate
Jean-Luc Mélenchon of
La France Insoumise. Poutou attacked
François Fillon and
Marine Le Pen, the first of which warned he could sue for the corruption claims that were made. Furthermore, Poutou addressed the moderators stating "it's not because I don't have a tie that you have to interrupt me". For several media observers, Poutou was the most prominent debate partaker. In the election, he received 1.09% of the vote and placed eighth out of eleven, as Mélenchon, the best-placed left-wing candidate in fourth place, had gathered over 3 million additional votes compared to 2012.
2022 campaign for president in February 2022 Poutou supported and took part in the
yellow vests movement that started in 2018, within the larger
protests against Emmanuel Macron, stating it was "the expression of a fed up with a society that is deeply unjust". On 28 June 2020, he took office as a municipal councillor and metropolitan councillor of
Bordeaux, following the
2020 municipal election, in which he campaigned most notably for
free public transportation. Previous attempts to win a seat in the municipal council as lead candidate in
2001 and
2014 were unsuccessful. Despite initial statements he would not run in 2022, Poutou was invested a third time by his party ahead of the
2022 presidential election. He stated he had "many things to say" to incumbent President
Emmanuel Macron. In the first round of the 2022 presidential election, Poutou received 268,904 votes, 0.76% of the total vote. Ahead of the
2022 legislative election, Poutou announced his party would not take part in the
New People's Ecologist and Social Union (NUPES) headed by Mélenchon. He was notably critical of the
Socialist Party's weight in the alliance.
2024 campaign for the National Assembly Ahead of the snap
2024 legislative election, the NPA came to agreement with La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, and other left-wing and ecologist forces to create a joint list for the election, called the
New Popular Front (NFP). Poutou himself was invested as the NFP's candidate in
Aude's 1st constituency. He would reach the second round, but be defeated by RN incumbent
Christophe Barthès. In May 2025, Poutou and his partner Béatrice Walylo took over the Les 400 Coups book store in Bordeaux. He announced that he would not be a candidate in the 2027 presidential election. ==References==