Paris, March 4 (BNA) – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that he will run for a second term in the April elections, seeking a mandate to guide the second largest economy in the eurozone during the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Macron announced his offer in a letter published by several regional newspapers.
If successful, he would be the first French leader in two decades to win a second term, according to Reuters.
Without providing a detailed statement, Macron said he would continue to cut taxes and push the French to work more, signaling a return to reforming the lagging pension system. He also hinted at reforming the education system, saying that teachers should be more free and get better salaries.
Macron enters the presidential race just a month or so before the first round of elections on April 10. Opinion polls suggest he is the favorite to win a contest that sees many contenders on the right and left split the vote.
Macron became France’s youngest leader since Napoleon five years ago, presenting himself as a political outsider who would break the old divide between left and right, make France friendlier to investors and strengthen the European Union.
He cut taxes on big corporations and the wealthy, relaxed labor laws, and marketed France Inc as a fledgling country, but anti-government “yellow vests” protests and then the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to slow his reform plans.
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