In a "Letter to the French" published online by several media and intended for the regional press, the outgoing president announces that he is "candidate to invent with you, in the face of the challenges of the century, a singular French and European response".

Only 38 days from the first round, the now president-candidate thus gives a boost to a campaign whose cards have been reshuffled by the war in Ukraine.

It will also be one of the shortest ever competed by an outgoing president, to the chagrin of his opponents on the right and on the left who only aspire to do battle with him on a record that they vehemently denounce.

Mobilized by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict - with a new interview Thursday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - the Head of State waited almost the last moment to formalize his candidacy, which the candidates must formalize with of the Constitutional Council before Friday 6 p.m.

Presidential 2022: Macron's confidence rating Kenan AUGEARD AFP

Emmanuel Macron declares himself later than two of his predecessors candidates for a second term, Jacques Chirac in 2002 and Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012, who had both declared themselves two months before the ballot.

But never has an international crisis had such an impact on a presidential campaign under the Fifth Republic.

And after the crises of "yellow vests" followed by the Covid pandemic, the youngest president France has known since 1958 is positioning himself as a captain in stormy weather.

Ready to fight

Behind the scenes, the presidential camp has been organizing for weeks, between fundraising to finance the campaign, leaflets, door-to-door, creation of support committees and platforms in the press of elected officials for a second term.

A first meeting which was scheduled for Marseille this weekend has been canceled or simply postponed.

Emmanuel Macron at a press conference following a special meeting of the European Council on Ukraine in Brussels on February 25, 2022 Olivier HOSLET POOL/AFP/Archives

And his adversaries sharpen their weapons.

Even before the official announcement, far-right candidate Eric Zemmour lambasted a "five-year term for nothing" on YouTube, saying that "our country has become unlivable and you have become the cause".

"The French are after you," he added, predicting that "the French people won't give you a second chance."

The environmental candidate Yannick Jadot estimated that "Emmanuel Macron has been campaigning for a long time, spending electorally".

"Its record is hard: it has severely hit the purchasing power of our fellow citizens", added the communist Fabien Roussel, hoping that "this war will not be the pretext to hide severe attacks against the purchasing power of the French ".

Still, as is often the case in times of instability, Mr. Macron benefits from his stature as "crisis president".

Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops eight days ago, the president-candidate has gained several points in the voting intentions, the polls giving him 27-28%, or around ten points ahead of her far-right rival, Marine Le Pen (RN), who is widening the gap with Valérie Pécresse (LR) and Eric Zemmour (Reconquest!).

Emmanuel Macron during a statement at the Elysee Palace on the war in Ukraine, in Paris on March 2, 2022 Ludovic MARIN AFP

On the left, only the leader of rebellious France Jean-Luc Mélenchon is doing well by being credited with around 11% of the voting intentions.

Recent polls also give him the winner in the second round against all his opponents, including the best placed Marine le Pen, even if it is with a smaller lead than in 2017.

“We have to be very careful about the outcome of the election. The second round may be tighter than we think. We are not immune to a demobilization of ours, who will think that it is won," a source with the presidential party told AFP.

If he emerges as the winner on the evening of the second round, on April 24, he will have made a bet never before realized in the history of the Fifth Republic: to be re-elected by direct universal suffrage without leaving a period of cohabitation, as had says François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac.

It remains to be convinced.

Gold, seductive or arrogant, protective or distant: five years after his irruption at the Elysée, Emmanuel Macron continues to divide the French, intrigued by his hyperactivity, his risky bets and his vertical exercise of power.

© 2022 AFP