Busy Macron in no rush to declare candidacy

France's President Emmanuel Macron plans to wait before officially declaring he will seek a second term in April elections, with his agenda still dominated by Ukraine and coronavirus, the government spokesman said Tuesday.

Just over two months before the first round of polls, Macron is the sole major candidate yet to have been declared while his rivals are already deep in intense campaigning.

There is little doubt Macron will stand -- he has himself said that he wants to -- but the nationwide campaign will only begin in earnest once the 44-year old incumbent throws his hat into the ring.

This week's presidential schedule, released on Monday, sparked speculation that Macron might announce his candidacy on Thursday or Friday when no formal events have been planned, but spokesman Gabriel Attal ruled out any imminent announcement.

"There are a lot of events at the moment that require his full attention... and do not give him much scope to express himself as a campaigner," Attal told Franceinfo, replying "no" when asked if it was time for Macron to formalise his bid.

Attal said Macron was holding intense daily talks with world leaders on the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, as well as working with the government on removing Covid-19 restrictions while cases remained high.

"The French wouldn't understand if these days the president were to express himself on his election campaign," he said.

Macron is widely tipped to win a second term, but analysts have cautioned the outcome of the two-round poll is far from a forgone conclusion, with many voters yet to make up their minds.

Mid-February 'window' 

Macron is not unusual among incumbent French presidents in waiting before formally becoming a candidate for re-election.

Right-winger Jacques Chirac waited until 70 days ahead of the polls in 2002 while Socialist Francois Mitterrand in 1988 declared with just 33 days to go. Both went on to win re-election.

Centrist Macron's rivals have accused him of deliberately delaying the announcement so as to take advantage of his office to make media appearances and defend his record without being seen as a candidate.

But Attal denied this.

"I don't think it's an advantage for us, quite the opposite. Maybe it's a handicap not to be able to be in the campaign right now while the opposition is," he added.

France also holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, with Macron keen to use the time to press his agenda for boosting the military and diplomatic clout of the 27-member bloc.

Aides to Macron have also argued against an announcement in the short term.

"There's a window of opportunity for him to declare his candidacy between 10-20 February," one presidential aide told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The health crisis needs to be behind us, and we need to be neither in an international crisis nor on the threshold of a major EU event," the aide said.

But there has also been intense movement behind the scenes, including the launch by supporters of a website, avecvous2022.fr, which appears to be a campaign platform. Yet it -- so far -- avoids any mention of Macron.

A new poll out on Monday by the Ifop-Fidicial survey group suggested that Macron would win the first round of the presidential election on April 10 with 24 percent of the vote.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and conservative Valerie Pecresse from the Republicans party are seen as competing for the other spot in the second-round run-off scheduled for April 24.

In the second-round run-off, Macron was projected to beat Le Pen by a margin of 55-45 percent, or Pecresse by 54-46 percent.