French President Emmanuel Macron chose his government’s health minister, Agnes Pouzen, to run for the mayor’s elections in Paris after publishing a porn video that pulled out his first candidate for the job.
The last-minute candidate change, with the first round of elections taking place on March 15, is the latest setback for the French president, whose popularity rating fell to 32 percent last January, according to Bloomberg News today.
The sexual video clip and exchanged text messages were shared between Benjamin Griffo, 42, a former spokesman for the Macron government, and a woman on a website last Wednesday night, which prompted Griffo to withdraw from the presidential ex on Friday, saying that "his family does not deserve it."
Macron, the Republic's forward party, chose Agnes Bouzin on Sunday as an alternative candidate, according to Agence France-Presse. Bozen is one of the party's most prominent members, as she has served as a minister since Macron took office and has been at the center of the country's response to the new Corona virus (Covid-19).
It is noteworthy that Paris Mayor Ann Hidalgo, a socialist, is running in the elections to seek a new term in office, as is Rachida Dati, the former justice minister, as a candidate for the right-wing Republican Party.