Raphaël Glucksmann

Raphaël Glucksmann (born 15 October 1979) is a French politician, essayist, and documentary filmmaker who has served as a Member of the European Parliament for France since 2019, affiliated with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. The son of philosopher André Glucksmann, he co-founded the centre-left Place Publique movement in 2018 and headed the joint Socialist Party-Place Publique lists in the 2019 and 2024 European Parliament elections, securing re-election in 2024 with approximately 14% of the vote amid a focus on bolstering European defense and supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression.

Glucksmann's early career involved journalism in Algeria and directing documentaries on human rights issues in post-Soviet states, followed by a stint from to as an advisor on European integration to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, reflecting his longstanding advocacy for democratic transitions in the region. After returning to France, he contributed as a columnist and editorialist before entering electoral politics, where he has positioned Place Publique as a pro-European alternative emphasizing anti-corruption efforts and critiques of both radical left and far-right tendencies.

Raphaël Glucksmann was born on 15 October 1979 in Boulogne-Billancourt to the philosopher André Glucksmann and Françoise Glucksmann (née Villette). His father, André (1937–2015), was a French intellectual of Ashkenazi Jewish origin whose parents—Rubin Glucksmann from Czernowitz (now Chernivtsi, Ukraine) and Martha Bass (or Kessler) from Prague—were left-wing Zionist activists who emigrated amid rising antisemitism in Europe. André's early life was shaped by the Nazi occupation of France during World War II, in which his father was killed and his mother and sister participated in the French Resistance, narrowly escaping deportation.

Glucksmann's mother, Françoise (also known as Fanfan), came from an intellectual milieu as the daughter of the philosopher Jeannette Colombel (née Prenant, born 1919), whose work influenced French philosophical circles. Françoise managed aspects of André's literary career and family life until her death in 2023. The family environment emphasized political engagement and intellectual discourse, with André's evolution from Maoism to anti-totalitarianism leaving a lasting imprint on his son, though Raphaël later distanced himself from some of his father's early ideological phases. No siblings are recorded in available biographical accounts, positioning Glucksmann as the sole child in a household defined by public intellectualism and Jewish heritage on the paternal side.