In a eagerly-awaited press conference on Wednesday afternoon, where Bayrou was expected by many to announce his own candidature for the French presidency, he instead came out in support of the maverick Macron and proposed they work together.
Bayrou, who had hinted at his own presidential run, announced he would not mount a rival bid to avoid splitting centrist votes to the benefit of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who he said poses a “major and immediate threat for our country and Europe”.
Macron immediately accepted the alliance, according to the Mayor of Lyon, “they met the week before and decided to make an alliance together.”
“France's democracy has “broken down,” warned Bayrou, offering the pact to prevent “the failure of France.”
“The danger is too great,” Bayrou told the press. “We have to change things, let’s unite our forces to achieve that.”
“Emmanuel Macron is brilliant, we could do great things together in this alliance,” he said.
Although Bayrou is only offering the alliance under conditions, Macron will receive an automatic boost by the fact the veteran politician has decided not to run.
Member comments