French centrist Bayrou says to back Macron in presidential race

French veteran centrist politician Francois Bayrou announced Wednesday he will back ex-economy minister Emmanuel Macron's candidacy for this year's presidential election, to overcome "a situation of extreme risk."

"In an exceptional situation, we need an exceptional solution. Scattering votes can only aggravate these perils. Because the risk is immense, I decided to offer Emmanuel Macron an alliance," Bayrou told reporters.

"In a single ballot, we can choose the failure of France and the tearing of the European Union. The danger is too great, we must change things and do it urgently, let's unite our forces to achieve it," he said.

The 65-year-old former education minister hopes "this alliance can bring something to the country."

But he has set a number of conditions including the introduction of proportional representation in elections and a law to combat conflicts of interest.

With a predicted 6 percent of voting intention, Bayrou's support is likely to give a boost to Macron who has been under fire over controversial remarks over gay marriage and comments condemning France's colonial past in Algeria.

An Elabe poll released on Tuesday showed the pro-European candidate was losing momentum with 18.5 percent of respondents said to endorse his bid, down by 5 percentage points from a previous survey, putting scandal-hit Francois Fillon ahead with Marine Le Pen, leader of National Front (FN) in the first round of voting in April. Endit