The head of the Paris region, Valérie Pécresse, will run for president next year, she told Le Figaro Thursday, reports Politico.
“I want to put the country back in order. In 2022, France must start anew. This summer, I will travel the country to meet the French people in order to enrich my project,” the conservative politician said in an interview with the newspaper.
Pécresse’s announcement was not a surprise, as she had long mulled a presidential run. However, her candidacy will further crowd the center-right space, where French president Emmanuel Macron and Xavier Bertrand — like Pécresse a former member of conservative party Les Républicains — are also positioning themselves.
According to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls, Bertrand could gather 17 percent of votes in the first round, coming third behind Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen. According to a poll published by LCI, Pécresse would get 14 percent.