PARIS (Reuters) -Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is cooperating with authorities, his office said on Wednesday, after police searched his office premises as part of what a judicial source said was a preliminary probe into possible corruption. Philippe, the mayor of Le Havre, is widely seen as a potential candidate to succeed Emmanuel Macron in the 2027 French presidential election. The judicial source, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the search was "part of a preliminary investigation opened in December 2023 on charges of influence peddling, favouritism, misappropriation of public funds and psychological harassment".