Mobilized by the war in Ukraine - with a new interview Thursday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - the outgoing head of state waited until the last moment to officially enter the running, since the candidatures must be submitted to of the Constitutional Council before Friday 5:00 p.m. GMT.

He will announce that he is seeking re-election in a "Letter to the French" which will be put online this Thursday evening.

The other candidates worry that the international files will overshadow priority national subjects such as purchasing power, health and safety.

And want to discuss as soon as possible with him to tackle his balance sheet.

The environmental candidate Yannick Jadot was one of the first to react: "There was no ambiguity about his candidacy. Emmanuel Macron has been campaigning for a long time, spending electorally".

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

Emmanuel Macron "will be president until the last quarter of an hour" because "the French need a president for the next five weeks as for the next five years", said Thursday morning on franceinfo the spokesman of the government Gabriel Attal, the day after a speech by the president on Ukraine.

A very presidential format that allows him to stay above the fray.

Never has an international crisis had such an impact on a presidential campaign under the Fifth Republic (the political regime in force since 1958).

The outgoing president was also confronted with another international crisis, in Mali, where he finally settled months of tension with the colonels in power by acting on February 17 the French military withdrawal from this country.

Resilience plan

And after the crises of the social movement 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: "I have and will only have 'a compass: protect you'.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex has precisely clarified on TF1 the outlines of a plan announced by Emmanuel Macron to mitigate the economic and social consequences - in particular a surge in fuel prices - of the war in Ukraine and the severe sanctions on Russia.

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

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 (National Rally - RN), who is widening the gap with right-wing candidate Valérie Pécresse (Les Républicains - LR) and Eric Zemmour (Reconquête!, far right).

But if the head of state assured that the campaign would allow an "important democratic debate", his rivals are increasingly worried about the results of the Macron years and the main concerns of the French - purchasing power, health and safety - relegated to the background.

“We have no candidate opposite. We cannot attack our balance sheet. We cannot propose a counter-project. We have no opponent today. This is a totally unprecedented situation in the Fifth Republic", protested Ms. Pécresse, who is struggling to find her place, overtaken in the latest polls by her two far-right rivals in particular.

Same observation from Marine Le Pen: "He (Macron) will have to take his other hat as a presidential candidate because he owes a record to the French".

The Russian aggression has also brought to light the fault lines within the opponents of the head of state.

Last example, the president of the RN Jordan Bardella and the MEP LR Geoffroy Didier both criticized the refusal of the Reconquest candidate!

to welcome Ukrainian refugees in France, accusing him of an "ideological" attitude or an "inhuman" refusal.

"The difference with Éric Zemmour is that when a European people is under the bombs, I feel solidarity with it and Marine Le Pen also feels solidarity with it", explained on RTL radio the MEP RN.

© 2022 AFP