Far from the battlefields, this "funny presidential campaign" has one less candidate.

Figure and free electron of the left, Christiane Taubira put "an end to a useless suspense" by withdrawing at midday from the race to the Elysée.

The former Minister of Justice of François Hollande had only 181 signatures of elected officials, very far from the 500 required, according to the last count of the Constitutional Council.

"Disintegration" of democracy

She also castigated in her speech the "disintegration of our democracy" and the "fracture" between institutions and citizens.

Christiane Taubira had started late, on January 15, in the race for the Elysée with the ambition of bringing together a divided left.

Sponsorships: where are the main contenders for the Elysée Sylvie HUSSON AFP

At the end of January, she emerged victorious from the popular Primary, an unprecedented citizens' initiative with nearly 400,000 voters.

But the main candidates on the left had refused to unite, even accusing him of adding confusion to the division of his political family with "one more candidacy".

This 70-year-old Guyanese with a strong character is credited in the latest polls with only 2% of voting intentions, far from the 5% necessary for a reimbursement of campaign expenses.

Seven days after the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the head of state remains above the fray in his sovereign duties as head of the armies.

President Emmanuel Macron on February 28, 2022 on the steps of the Elysée Palace in Paris Ludovic MARIN AFP

He chaired a third defense council in the morning devoted to the most serious crisis in Europe since 1945. And will make a new solemn address in the evening.

But the countdown has started, he must send to the Constitutional Council before Friday 6:00 p.m. a declaration of assets and a letter indicating his consent to be a candidate.

At 39 days before the ballot, the greatest vagueness surrounds the way in which he will announce to the French his wish to run for a second term.

On the right, difficult pass for Valérie Pécresse.

If she prances at the head of the sponsorships of elected officials with more than 2,400 initials, even surpassing Emmanuel Macron (1,785), she shows a drop in the polls, which often place her behind her far-right rivals Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour, or even behind Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) since Monday.

The LR candidate has still not received the official support of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who according to several media does not hesitate to criticize her in private.

LR presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse on March 1, 2022 during a debate on health organized by the Mutualité française (FNMF) in Paris Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP

Raffarin votes for Macron

And on Wednesday morning, it was even Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former head of government of Jacques Chirac (2002-2005), who gave his support for the presidential election to Emmanuel Macron, "the youngest and the most experienced" and who, according to he, "has everything in hand to succeed in his second term".

"This five-year term will undoubtedly remain one of the most difficult in our history: the president, in my opinion, has lived up to the position, I wish his candidacy and I will support him", announced on LCI Mr. Raffarin, who left LR several years ago.

"I think that Valérie Pécresse does not have this capacity today to be a dam on the far right and therefore, for safety, it is clear that those who want a dam on the far right have to vote Macron" , he argued.

Former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin on September 30, 2019 in Paris ERIC FEFERBERG AFP / Archives

Several LR figures had joined the presidential camp after his victory in 2017. The two Prime Ministers of his five-year term, Edouard Philippe and Jean Castex, are former Republicans, as are his Ministers of the Economy Bruno Le Maire or of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, two government heavyweights.

Another former Prime Minister, but a socialist this time, Manuel Valls also called on Wednesday to "unite behind the only possible choice" by voting for Emmanuel Macron in the first round of the presidential election.

Also defectors to the extreme right.

RN candidate Marine Le Pen said on Tuesday evening on BFMTV "convinced" that her niece Marion Maréchal was going to join the campaign of her far-right rival Eric Zemmour.

"It saddens me personally and it plunges me into an abyss of perplexity politically" because "I am the only one who can win against Emmanuel Macron", she said, based on the voting intentions which give it around 17%, in second place behind the outgoing president (around 25-27%).

Several elected officials, including a leading member of the RN, MEP Nicolas Bay, and the sole senator of the party Stéphane Ravier, both ideologically close to Marion Maréchal, have joined Eric Zemmour's campaign in recent weeks.

© 2022 AFP