Macron Declares Bid for Re-election... Will a President Be Re-elected for the First Time in 20 Years?

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] French President Emmanuel Macron sent a letter to the public one day before the deadline for registering candidates for the next presidential election, declaring his bid for re-election. There has been no case of a successful re-election in France for 20 years since the late former President Jacques Chirac.

On the afternoon of the 3rd (local time), President Macron formalized his re-election bid through a "Letter to the People of France" published on the websites of regional French daily newspapers including Le Parisien. He said, "I want to earn your trust again," introducing himself as "the candidate who will face the challenges of the century and create a unified response for France and Europe with you, and the candidate who will protect our values threatened by global turmoil."

President Macron also emphasized that the election process would be difficult to proceed normally due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He stated, "Due to the current situation, it is naturally impossible to campaign as desired," and stressed, "I will clearly and devotedly explain our project to continue developing the homeland."

The French presidential election will hold the first round on April 10, and if no candidate wins a majority, the top two candidates will face off in a runoff on April 24. As international affairs are rapidly evolving, President Macron is understood to have chosen to publish a letter in newspapers rather than making a physical declaration of candidacy.

According to recent various opinion polls, President Macron is expected to advance to the runoff with the highest support in the first round of the presidential election and win in the runoff as well. In the runoff, he will face the right-wing camp. Currently, the next highest support after President Macron is for Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), who faced him in the 2017 presidential election. Other competitors mentioned include ?ric Zemmour and Val?rie P?cresse, the first female presidential candidate from the right-wing Republicans (LR) and governor of ?le-de-France.

Antoine Bristielle, a public opinion expert at the Jean Jaur?s Foundation think tank in Paris, explained, "In times of crisis, citizens always want to stand behind a leader and a flag," adding, "Other candidates will not be heard well. Currently, the media is dominated by stories of 'invasion.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.