She is stepping away from her role as an observer to make herself "useful" to her country, denouncing a France mired in "chaos", amid a debt crisis, "tragic" unrest in secondary schools and a "total lack of prospects."
The list of candidates for the 2027 French presidential election continues to grow.
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Speaking on France Inter radio on Wednesday, Natacha Polony, a 51-year-old journalist and essayist, announced that she would run for president, saying she wanted to "shake up the political landscape."
'The situation leaves me no choice'
Former editor-in-chief of Marianne magazine, Polony denounced what she describes as France's "complete loss of standing".
She advocates economic, energy and food sovereignty and calls for a reindustrialisation policy to "revive economic activity" and "bring money into the state's coffers."
In a video posted on her social media accounts shortly after her radio appearance, the newly announced candidate outlined her vision of a more sovereign France.
"A nation that no longer produces what it needs is no longer truly free to fund our schools and hospitals, preserve our social model, create skilled jobs and prepare for artificial intelligence," Polony said.
"We must produce...We must produce at home, on our own terms," she insisted.
A decision months in the making
At the end of August she launched her movement "Nous sommes la France" aimed at "all those orphaned by politics", saying she wanted to bring together "those who no longer feel represented by the current political options."
Speaking on France Inter, Natacha Polony claimed that her movement had 60,000 members who wanted to "fight against France's decline".
Often described as a "sovereigntist", she rejects the label, calling it the system's "favourite anathema".
In late September, during a heated televised debate with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Polony accused him of seeing France as a "small country".
In her view, under Emmanuel Macron, Paris "fantasises" about European unity and seeks "at all costs" to be "Europe's star pupil", even if that means sacrificing the country's "vital" interests.
She points in particular to the cancellation of the Franco-German fighter jet project, as well as decisions she considers detrimental to French interests regarding European preference in the defence sector, while Germany continues to favour purchasing American weapons systems.
Crowded field of candidates
Besides Natacha Polony, nearly 30 public figures have already announced their candidacy or are being tipped to run in the 2027 presidential race.
Among the main contenders are Marine Le Pen of the National Rally (RN), Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France insoumise, and former prime ministers Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal.
On the centre-left, Raphael Glucksmann, who won the first round of the social-democratic primary, hopes to position himself as an alternative to Jean-Luc Mélenchon's radical left.
Meanwhile, former Socialist president François Hollande, Dominique de Villepin, a former prime minister under Jacques Chirac, and Bruno Le Maire, who served as economy minister from 2017 to 2024, have yet to reveal whether they intend to run.
The list remains provisional: to officially stand in the first round of the presidential election, scheduled for 18 April 2027, candidates must secure at least 500 sponsorships from elected officials.