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French centrist Bayrou to back Macron in presidential race

Xinhua, February 23, 2017 Adjust font size:

French veteran centrist politician Francois Bayrou said Wednesday he would 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 (EU). 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 on conflicts of interest.

On his Twitter account, Macron said he accepted the alliance: "The alliance proposed by Bayrou focuses on values, ideas and is part of our approach of gathering."

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 losing momentum with up to 18.5 percent of respondents saying they would endorse his bid, down by 5 percentage points from a previous survey, making scandal-hit Francois Fillon ahead with Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front in the first round of votes in April.

Macron, a former investment banker, wants to raise taxes on consumption and wealthy pensioners. He also promised to boost the defense budget, hire 10,000 police officers and raise funding for schools.

The pro-business contender joined the Socialist government in August 2014 to replace ousted economy minister Arnaud Montebourg.

He has never held an elected post. He disclosed his political ambition after creating his own political movement "En Marche" (On the Move) in April last year. Endit