Paris (AFP)

The Minister of Agriculture Didier Guillaume and the Secretary of State for Tourism and External Trade Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne have both decided to withdraw their candidacy for the municipal elections in Biarritz, at the request of Emmanuel Macron, announced on Wednesday Elysium.

The head of state received Didier Guillaume on Tuesday to ask him to "end his engagement" in Biarritz, where he had launched a list concurrent to that of outgoing mayor Michel Veunac, on which Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne appeared, clarified the Elysee.

"The President of the Republic salutes the spirit of responsibility of Didier Guillaume and his commitment alongside the actors of French agriculture", declared the presidency, which underlines an approach of "clarity and unity".

During their meeting on Tuesday, the Head of State had "asked Didier Guillaume to end his engagement in Biarritz and to stay by his side in order to exercise his responsibilities as Minister of Agriculture, in an important period for the government, "the source said.

In this period, "all the forces of the majority must be gathered and work together" while the stakes are also "important for French agriculture in the context of Brexit and discussions around the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)", added the presidency.

For his part Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne confirmed that he was giving up on the list of mayor Michel Veunac and that he wished to continue his mission in government. The president asked his secretary of state this Wednesday to give up his municipal ambitions.

The pressure had increased in recent weeks on Didier Guillaume so that he would give up running as rival of the mayor (MoDem) Michel Veunac, to whom La République en Marche was preparing Wednesday evening to formalize its support for the elections of 15 and March 22.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe had thus estimated mid-January that it was "not conceivable that two members of the government could be candidates one against the other durably".

Mr. Guillaume had assured Tuesday that he "will respect (it) the arbitration of the President of the Republic". "It is not possible for two members of the government to stand against each other, even if my colleague is on a list and I aspire to be mayor," he said on BFMTV and RMC.

© 2020 AFP