France election ‘elephant in the room’ in Brussels says Keating
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As France prepares to choose its next president, Mr Macron is still to officially declare his candidacy. And though that can only be a matter of days away, his opponents are in a “war of nerves”, the national press claims.
With April 10, the day of the first vote, fast approaching, speculation over when the 44-year-old president will speak out on his next step is on the rise.
French journalist Julie Marie Leconte wrote: “If rumours are rife for an announcement at the end of February, in any case, the head of state will have to come out of his silence before March 4 and the deadline for filing candidacies.”
One person close to the French leader told France Info: “Where are the advantages of waiting?”
“His opponents are fighting each other while waiting for him to enter the ring.”
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Another, speaking of the Paris International Agricultural Show starting on February 26, said Mr Macron will be “the only one not to go as a candidate” if no announcement comes before.
They added: “Unless he declares himself there
“It would be symbolic, but it would lack solemnity.”
The show, one of the nation’s favourite events, has a history that dates back more than a century.
Now held in Paris, it was largely promoted by former President Jacques Chirac and every year welcomes nearly 700,000 visitors interested in French gastronomy.
One of Mr Macron’s advisers, commenting on an announcement before the event, told RMC: “It would be his first appearance as a candidate, on a perfect theme: rurality.”
Meanwhile, another adviser claimed: “We are proposing all the possible options, and then he will choose.
“The big debates, the meetings… nothing is officially decided.”
Marlène Schiappa, junior minister for citizenship, said: “It’s a very personal decision. The candidates have until the beginning of March to declare themselves.”
But someone from the president’s inner circle pointed at foreign policy as a key driver. They said: “If the crisis in Ukraine is not behind us, Emmanuel Macron could wait a little longer, until early March.”
The escalation of the conflict with the Kremlin has in the last week led to Western leaders ramping up their diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions and try to avert a war in Eastern Europe.
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Ukraine: Macron slammed for making it ‘too easy for Putin
The French president was one among several who held emergency meetings with Vladimir Putin.
After his last visit to Moscow, in which he hoped for “historic solutions”, he said: “We cannot resolve this crisis in a few hours of talks.
“It will be the days and the weeks and the months to come that will allow us to progress.”
Mr Macron on Friday described the situation in eastern Ukraine as very worrying, hinting his inner circle might be right and the president might focus much of his attention on the crisis.
While the names of those who have gathered the necessary 500 endorsements from elected officials to qualify for the first-round ballot paper won’t be announced until early next month, only a handful of politicians seem to be truly in the race to lead Western Europe’s second-largest country for the next five years.
Polls suggest that for the time being, even without the full list of candidates, Mr Macron, Valérie Pécresse and Marine Le Pen have the highest chances.
Among the other candidates, only Éric Zemmour and hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon are on the way to securing more than 10 percent of the vote.
Additional reporting Maria Ortega
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