Emmanuel Macron has announced he is standing for re-election, in a letter published in a number of local newspapers in France, reports The Guardian.
The president, like all potential candidates, had until 6pm local time to announce he would run in the April election and to present the country’s constitutional court with 500 signatures from MPs and other elected officials supporting his bid.
“I am seeking your trust again. I am a candidate to invent with you, faced with the century’s challenges, a French and European singular response,” he said.
Macron acknowledged that the election would not be a normal one owing to Russia’s war on Ukraine. “Of course, I will not be able to campaign as I would have liked because of the context,” he said, while vowing to “explain our project with clarity and commitment”.
Élysée sources told French media that Macron, who addressed the nation on Wednesday on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, what it meant for the EU and the probable consequences, had wanted to avoid making a verbal declaration that might be seen as out of place in the international context of the war.
A letter would be seen as sufficiently “solemn and sober”, a source told broadcaster France Info. It also allowed him to explain why he was running for re-election through the regional press.