Macron Says He Wants to Seek Re-Election But Has Yet to Decide

(Bloomberg) -- Emmanuel Macron said he wants to run again for president in France's April election but stressed that he hasn't fully made up his mind.

“There is no false suspense. I want to,” Macron told Le Parisien newspaper when asked if he intends to run again. Before committing himself, he'll consider the Covid-19 situation and the “political equation.”

“This decision is consolidating deep down inside. I need to be sure to be able to go as far as I want,” the president said.

While there's little doubt Macron will seek a second five-years term, this is the closest the president has come to announcing. He's so far declined to directly answer questions regarding the election, but his teams are working on the campaign and he's spoken of the “major choices” France must make in 2022.

The 44-year-old former investment banker swept aside France's political establishment when he was elected president in 2017 on an ambitious reform agenda. His party, the Republic on the Move, created for the campaign, helped him win a majority in Congress.

But Macron's standing has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic, strikes against a pension overhaul he eventually dropped and violent protests by the Yellow Vests movement that demanded greater economic equality.

While most polls show him beating any of the candidates in the second round, Macron faces tough competition from the conservatives and the far-right.

In the interview with Le Parisien, Macron also stepped up criticism of radical anti-vaccine movements who oppose his push to boost vaccination as a way to contain skyrocketing Covid infections. “I really want to hassle them. And we will continue to do this, to the end. This is the strategy,” he said, adding that means “limiting as much as possible their access to activities in social life.”