"I have always been ready", argued Mr. Bayrou on Radio J, recalling having "already been a candidate three times" in 2002, 2007 and 2012.
"I am a full-fledged citizen. And have I ever renounced exercising this citizenship? No," he added.
"I believe that France is doing badly and I believe that it could be doing very well. And so I will do everything I can in all the deadlines and all the necessary functions", insisted Mr. Bayrou.
Could the current High Commissioner for Planning, an ally of Emmanuel Macron since 2017, succeed him when he will be 76 years old in 2027?
"It could very well happen, but that's not the question," he replied.
"What I see coming is, by its gravity, such that it should mobilize all the forces available, all the intelligences available and all the wills available. It is on this side that I am", he continued. .
Worried about the geopolitical, economic and social context, the mayor of Pau also questioned the holding of the elections in 2027. "We don't know anything about it. We don't know what can happen," he said. he declared, referring to "the incredible difficulty of the times".
“If you think that any zozo can say 5 years in advance what is going to happen, then you are not mistaken, all that is charlatans”, he asserted.
© 2022 AFP