French green party candidate Yannick Jadot on Thursday announced he was dropping from the presidential race and would back Socialist party candidate Benoit Hamon in two stage elections in April and May.

"I am withdrawing as a candidate in the presidential election to take part in a great adventure," Jadot said on France 2 television after striking a "marvelous" agreement with with the Socialists earlier in the day.

Opinion polls show Jadot getting one or two percent of the vote, but by throwing his support behind fourth place Hamon the left hopes to consolidate its voter base to advance in the polls. Hamon has unsuccessfully sought to persuade Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon to drop out of the race and support his bid.

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Some polls show all three men may have enough supporters to give a leftist alliance a chance to mount a challenge.

Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader of the National Front, is currently ahead in the polls with about a quarter of the vote. But she is forecasted to lose the second round vote on May 7 to centrist former economy minister Emmanuel Macron or Francois Fillon, the conservative candidate for the right-wing Republicans party.

Macron was given a slight boost this week after centrist François Bayrou threw his support behind the centrist candidate. Two new polls released showed Macron neck-and-neck with Fillon at about 20 percent each, while a third showed the former economy minister slightly ahead of Fillon after Bayrou's announcement.

A leftist alliance would make Macron and Fillon path to the presidency more difficult.

All the polls show Le Pen winning the first round election on April 23 but losing in the May 7 runoff against either Macron or Fillon.

cw/rc (AFP, dpa, Reuters) </s> PARIS — Emmanuel Macron’s presidential campaign received a boost Wednesday after the leader of a centrist political party with a small but ardent following said he wouldn’t run in the election and proposed an alliance with the former French economy minister.

François Bayrou, leader of Mouvement Démocrate, said contesting this year’s election would have fractured the vote to the advantage of Marine Le Pen, the leader of far-right National Front party.

“Because the risk is immense, because French people are bewildered and desperate, I’ve decided to offer Emmanuel Macron an alliance,” Bayrou said.

Bayrou’s decision is the latest twist in a closely fought presidential election, fraught with setbacks for front-runners and surges in support for outsiders. With polls showing Ms. Le Pen winning the first round April 23, mainstream candidates are jostling for second place and the chance to go head-to-head with the National Front leader in the May 6 runoff.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com. </s> PARIS (AFP) - Tensions over French president-elect Emmanuel Macron's bid to redraw France's political map burst into the open on Friday (May 12) as a key ally was left furious ahead of crucial parliamentary elections next month.

Macron angered fellow centrist Francois Bayrou and faced mockery from his opponents after his La Republique En Marche (REM, The Republic on the Move) party unveiled more than 400 candidates for crucial parliamentary elections in June.

"It's a big recycling operation for the Socialist party," Bayrou told L'Obs magazine, adding bitterly that candidates from his MoDem party had been offered only 35 constituencies instead of the 120 he expected.

Bayrou, a veteran centrist and presidential candidate, threw his and MoDem's support behind Macron at the end of February at a crucial time when the 39-year-old president-elect's campaign needed new momentum.

"When I offered him my support, he was at 18 per cent," Bayrou added.

Macron, who will be inaugurated on Sunday, has promised to refresh France's parliament and his party unveiled 428 out of 577 candidates on Thursday.

Half of them have never held elected office, including a retired female bullfighter and a star mathematician, and half of them are women.

The initial reaction from three out of four voters was positive, a survey published on Friday by the Harris Interactive polling group suggested.

"Probably the biggest success of Emmanuel Macron is having motivated so many people who were outside of politics to have committed themselves to try to renew things," his spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said on Friday.

But as well as angering Bayrou, REM was forced to correct its list after around 10 people said they had not agreed to stand for the party or had never applied to be a candidate.

One was Mourad Boudjellal, the wealthy president of Toulon rugby club, who said that while he was flattered about being approached, "it is not my ambition" to enter politics.

The vice-president of the far-right National Front, Florian Philippot, accused Macron of "amateurism."

The parliamentary selection process is seen as a tricky and risky balancing act for Macron, who will take over from widely unpopular Socialist Francois Hollande.

Without his own parliamentary majority, the former investment banker will find it hard to push through his planned reforms of the labour market, pensions, unemployment benefits or education.

Macron, a former economy minister in Hollande's government, has so far failed to attract centrist members of the right-wing Republicans party, but still believes some will cross over before next Wednesday.

Before then, he faces other crucial decisions on his staff at the Elysee Palace and his first government.

The most important will be his choice for prime minister, who will head the government until at least the parliamentary elections on June 11 and 18 and perhaps beyond.

Amid feverish speculation in the French media - will he pick a loyal supporter or someone from the right-wing Republicans? - nothing has leaked from his small group of aides.

The choice will send a strong signal about Macron's intentions, and he has promised to pick someone with past experience of parliament and capable of managing a majority. His declared preference is for a woman.

Immediately after his swearing-in, Macron will head to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel to start discussions about his ambitious plans for reforming the European Union.

Macron wants to deepen integration in the 19-country eurozone, giving the zone its own budget, and wants to toughen the EU's response to "unfair" industrial competition from countries such as China. </s> Self-described outsider and centrist take surprise step of joining forces as veteran of three elections says France is at ‘extreme risk’ and needs ‘exceptional response’

Emmanuel Macron’s presidential campaign has been boosted by a surprise alliance with veteran centrist François Bayrou.

Bayrou, the perennial “third man” of French politics, surprised supporters on Wednesday by offering to sacrifice a separate candidacy and join forces with the former Socialist economy minister, who is standing on a centrist ticket.

Shortly after the announcement, Macron told journalists he accepted the deal, including the demand for a law to clean up French politics, which he added would be a turning point in the presidential campaign and in “political life”.



“The alliance proposed by François Bayrou is based on values and ideas,” Macron told AFP.

Who is Emmanuel Macron? The 39-year-old was raised in Picardy, studied philosophy and was briefly a rising star in the the civil service before joining Rothschild as an investment banker. He served François Hollande first as senior adviser then as economy minister, before resigning and launching his campaign. Macron defines himself as an energetic outsider, 'of the left' and progressive on social issues, but economically liberal and pro-business. His youthful movement En Marche! (Let’s Go!) draws thousands to its rallies. Opponents say his crusade to reinvent the political system is presumptuous and have criticised his deliberately flexible approach to policy. Read our profile

“It fits fully into the programme of renewal and unity that’s been our aim from the beginning and that’s why I accepted.”

Macron said he would meet Bayrou, president of the Mouvement Démocrate (MoDem), on Thursday.

After weeks of suspense, the 65-year-old Bayrou, a veteran of three previous presidential elections, had been expected to announce that he would join the presidential race.

Instead, he said he would not stand but offered to join forces with Macron, 39.



The announcement, described as an unprecedented move, took French political pundits and rival candidates by surprise.



Polls suggest the bulk, though not all, of Bayrou’s support – thought to be worth 5-6% of the vote in a race that may come down to two or three percentage points – will transfer to Macron, increasing his chances of advancing to the second round runoff ahead of his centre-right rival, François Fillon.

Bayrou said the country was at “extreme risk” and needed what he described as an “exceptional response”. What he was proposing, he added, was an alliance of partners and not a move for his centrist party to be subsumed by Macron’s En Marche! (Let’s Go!) movement.



Emmanuel Macron: the French outsider who would be president Read more

“I have two paths, to stand myself or to look for an unusual solution. I have decided to offer Emmanuel Macron an alliance,” Bayrou told a press conference.



“Perhaps it’s a sacrifice for me, but I feel there are times one has to rise to the seriousness of the situation and consider how to get out of it. It’s not a time for me to think of myself, but of my country.”

Bayrou said the French were “disorientated and despairing”, faced with the far-right Front National candidate Marine Le Pen – currently leading in the polls for the first round vote – who he said was the “threat and major danger for our country and Europe”, and Fillon, 62, hit by allegations over jobs given to his wife and children.

“Never in the past 50 years has the democracy in France known such a situation,” Bayrou said, adding that French politics was riddled with “practices that would not be expected anywhere else”. The presidential campaign, which has been rocked by scandals, had left him “stupefied” and “made a mockery of France”, he added.

“To the right, affairs have been uncovered that reveal not just the existence of privileges and tendencies but the tacit and almost unanimous acceptance of them. For a long time it has been repeated that ‘everyone does it’. But I can stand here and say it is not true and it is defamatory for the vast majority of elected representatives.”

Bayrou said one of his conditions for an alliance with Macron, whom he described as “brilliant”, would be a major clean up of France’s political life.

“French people feel politicians words count for nothing. They have no confidence in the words and promises they hear … we have to convince the French our actions can match our words. It’s a good time to do it even if it is a sacrifice,” he added.



Bayrou, who was an education minister in a centre right government in the 1990s, said he had spoken to Macron a week ago and insisted it should be an alliance and not a subjugation of the “French centrist movement”.

“Perhaps this can be the foundation of a new approach in French politics,” he added. </s> French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron has accepted an alliance with veteran politician Francois Bayrou.

With right-wing leader Marine Le Pen threatening in the polls, Macron confirmed the partnership with Bayrou on a platform "based on values and ideas".

Bayrou, who ran three times for president and won more than 18% of the vote in the 2007 election, was expected to join the race on his own ticket, but surprised many when the alliance with Macron was announced.

The 65-year-old was forecast to secure roughly 5% of the vote if he ran independently in this year's race, with a majority of those votes now expected to shift to Macron.

Macron had been polling roughly on a par with centre-right rival Francois Fillon, but is now expected to edge him out for the head-to-head showdown with Le Pen.

Bayrou said he wanted the alliance with Macron because Le Pen posed a "major and immediate threat for our country and Europe".

"I have two paths, to stand myself or to look for an unusual solution. I have decided to offer Emmanuel Macron an alliance," Bayrou told a press conference, reported the Guardian.

"Perhaps it's a sacrifice for me, but I feel there are times one has to rise to the seriousness of the situation and consider how to get out of it. It's not a time for me to think of myself, but of my country."

As a condition with his alliance for Macron, Bayrou demanded a clean up of the political system, which has been rocked by scandals across the spectrum. Both Fillon and Le Pen have been accused of separate "fake jobs" scandals – the former concerning the French taxpayers and the latter concerning European Union funds.

"French people feel politicians' words count for nothing. They have no confidence in the words and promises they hear ... we have to convince the French our actions can match our words. It's a good time to do it even if it is a sacrifice," Bayrou said.

"Perhaps this can be the foundation of a new approach in French politics," he added. </s> Emmanuel Macron's campaign for the French presidency received a key boost on Wednesday when he accepted to forge an "alliance' with veteran centrist François Bayrou against conservative and far Right rivals.

The offer from Mr Bayrou, 65, who has run for president three times and came third in 2007 with 18.5 per cent of the vote, came as a surprise; as many observers thought he would announce his candidacy once again.

But speaking at his Modem party headquarters in Paris, the historian of Henri IV, said the hour was too grave in France to think of self-interest.

"I have decided to offer Emmanuel Macron an alliance. The danger is too big we must change things," he said, describing his decision as a "sacrifice." </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption Francois Bayrou (right) has resigned from French President Emmanuel Macron's cabinet

France's Justice Minister, François Bayrou, resigned on Wednesday hours before President Emmanuel Macron announced his new government line-up.

It meant that Mr Bayrou's centrist party, MoDem, surrendered all three of its cabinet posts within 24 hours.

President Macron came to power with a promise to fight political sleaze.

MoDem, allied to Mr Macron's La République en Marche (LREM) party, is facing an inquiry into claims that it used EU funds to pay party workers.

Defence Minister and ex-MEP Sylvie Goulard was the first MoDem minister to hand in her resignation on Tuesday.

After Mr Bayrou said he was standing down early on Wednesday, it became clear that Marielle de Sarnez, European affairs minister, was also leaving the government to take over as head of MoDem in the National Assembly.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Marielle de Sarnez (centre) is also understood to be resigning

The resignations were not confined to Mr Bayrou's party. Mr Macron's close ally Richard Ferrand stepped down on Monday, amid unrelated allegations he had used insider information to secure a lucrative property deal for his wife while he was head of a mutual health insurance fund.

Mr Ferrand and Ms Goulard have both denied any wrongdoing.

However, the allegations have cast a shadow over the new government. It was François Bayrou who outlined details of a bill to clean up politics.

Three of the figures brought in to replace the four who resigned were women from civil society rather than politics:

Legal expert Nicole Belloubet leaves France's constitutional council to replace François Bayrou as justice minister

Nathalie Loiseau, ex-diplomat and head of France's elite ENA training college for civil servants, is named European affairs minister

Rail executive and one-time Socialist budget minister Florence Parly takes up the defence brief

Jacques Mézard, who is in the president's LREM party, moves from agriculture to take over Richard Ferrand's post as territorial cohesion minister

Is Macron's promise to bridge the divide crumbling already? Analysis by Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Paris

The relationship between the outspoken Francois Bayrou and Mr Macron's government has been tense for weeks.

The French papers were full of anonymous sources from the president's party denouncing Mr Bayrou as having an "outsized ego" who "stops [them] from governing". "We can't keep moving forward," one said, "when we're always going back every five minutes to check whether Bayrou has made a mess again."

Image copyright AFP Image caption Sylvie Goulard stepped down as defence minister on Tuesday

Mr Bayrou's departure shows how difficult it can be to prevent scandal, even in those with a well-known political past. With so many new faces entering parliament this month after a rapid selection process, there's a risk those problems could multiply.

The president's party has a clear majority in parliament, even without the support of MoDem. But having vowed to bridge the left-right divide in French politics, Mr Macron may instead be facing a growing chasm with his centrist allies.

The bill to clean up politics included stopping politicians hiring members of their own family, a ban of up to 10 years for MPs and senators convicted of corruption or fraud, and reform of party financing.

Mr Macron will no doubt be hoping it quells concerns over his fledgling administration, which faces one of its first hurdles on Thursday when it presents controversial new anti-terrorism legislation.

Documents leaked to French newspaper Le Monde have already raised fears amongst civil liberties campaigners it may make France's emergency measures, which give authorities extra powers including the ability to carry out searches at any time, permanent.

Interior Minister Gérard Collomb told French newspaper Le Figaro [in French] the legislation would involve four flagship methods: creating protection areas around potential targets, closing places of worship which incite terrorism, replacing house arrest with personalised measures, and placing a judge in overall charge of searches and the resulting documents. </s> Emmanuel Macron has emerged as undisputed king of the French centre ground, but shifting sentiment and alliances make predicting this year's presidential election as difficult as ever.

Macron, a 39-year-old former economy minister, was given little chance when he launched a new political movement "En Marche" last year ahead of a vote that was billed as a fight between conservatives and the far-right.

But the pro-European progressive is now a frontrunner to become France's next leader and will draw fresh strength from Wednesday's announcement of a potentially vital alliance with veteran centrist Francois Bayrou, who decided against mounting a rival presidential bid.

The two were to meet on Thursday afternoon with Macron hoping the tie-up can boost his chances after a tricky 10 days that have seen him lose momentum just as far-right candidate Marine Le Pen picks up speed.

Bayrou acknowledged that Macron was in a "bit of a difficult spot" on Thursday as he spoke about their alliance aimed at ending the post-war lock on France's politics enjoyed by mainstream parties.

"The feeling he had, I think, was that it was an important moment for him, but not only for him, for changing the political life of France," Bayrou told RTL radio.

Macron's unforeseen rise illustrates the difficulty in forecasting this year's two-stage election on April 23 and May 7 which is being widely watched by governments and investors around the world.

Polls currently show anti-EU far-right leader Le Pen winning the first round with around 25-28 percent of the vote, but losing in the second round where she needs more than 50 percent.

The ultimate winner is therefore currently seen as Macron or Francois Fillon, the long-time favourite and conservative candidate for the right-wing Republicans party.

But the unstable international background -- from Donald Trump and Brexit to the surge of right-wing nationalists in Europe -- is mirrored by an anti-establishment and angry mood in France.

Unpopular Socialist President Francois Hollande decided not to run for re-election in December after a five-year term marked by a series of terror attacks and high unemployment.

Both the Republicans and the Socialist parties overlooked the most obvious candidates when choosing their nominee in primary votes.

And Le Pen and Fillon both face serious legal investigations into their use of allegedly fake parliamentary aides which could have consequences between now and election day.

Fillon was described as "completely lost" by former rightwing president Nicolas Sarkozy after the two men lunched together last week, according to a report in the Canard Enchaine newspaper.

A final election twist, largely overlooked until recently, is the potential for a tie-up between the splintered leftist candidates which would produce another political earthquake.

Polls show that Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon, Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon and environmentalist Yannick Jadot have enough supporters to mount a serious challenge together.

"Benoit Hamon has reached out to Jean-Luc Melenchon, he's even reached out to Yannick Jadot," the spokesman for the Socialist government, Stephane Le Foll, told France 2 television on Thursday.

Le Foll urged Hamon to make a deal quickly, adding: "Personally I'm in favour of alliances."

France's splintered Socialists are still haunted by the 2002 presidential election when their divisions led them to be knocked out in the first round, with far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen -- Marine's father -- going through to the run-off.

A leftist alliance would make Macron's route to the presidency more difficult, but he could still -- thanks to Bayrou's decision -- claim to be the only centrist in the race.

His platform -- which critics say is still too vague -- is more pro-business and reform-minded than his leftist rivals who have large tax-and-spend programmes.

He is also instinctively pro-European and is at ease with multiculturalism in France, whereas Fillon and Le Pen have both railed against the threat to French identity posed by Muslims in particular.

But Macron remains inexperienced, having served only two years as an economy minister and the same amount of time as a political advisor to Hollande.

He was forced to backtrack last week during a visit to Algeria where he talked about France's 130-year colonial rule there as a "crime against humanity," leading to fierce attacks from his rightwing rivals. </s> The new President of France will put an end to all the speculation on Monday by naming his new Prime Minster. Here's a look at a list of the favourites.

BREAKING NEWS: Emmanuel Macron names Edouard Philippe as his new prime minister

Macron has been under pressure to reveal the name of his prime minister for several weeks, but he has so far refused to divulge the person who will lead his government.

The new president, who is backed by his pop-up La Republique En Marche! (formerly just En Marche!) movement rather than a traditional political party, says he will reveal the name on Monday.

In the meantime the names of his possible prime minsters continue to fly around, although we can safely rule out names such as François Hollande, Manuel Valls, François Fillon, Marine Le Pen and the person that threw an egg at him at the Agricultural show earlier this year.

Here's a look at some of the contenders.

According to an Opinionway poll, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is the most popular among Macron's potential Prime Ministers.

Some 13% of those questioned would like to see Lagarde as his PM. She has been minister three times (for Trade in 2005, Agriculture in 2007 and Economy in 2011) and is therefore vastly experienced.

However her name may be slightly tarnished given that last year a French court found Lagarde guilty of negligence over a €400 million payout to the tycoon Bernard Tapie in 2008.

Tapie was not however handed any punishment and immediately received the backing of the French government.

Leader of the centrist Democratic Movement (MoDem) François Bayrou, 65, joined Macron at a crucial time in his campaign, when he started to dip in the polls. Bayrou had initially been hostile to Macron.

Bayrou told Macron he was simply there to help and insisted his backing did not come with any conditions attached - namely a position in his government.

Nevertheless Macron could go for the mayor of the city of Pau, (in the south-west of France) who served as Minister of Education from 1993 to 1997 and who has run for the presidency on three occasions.

Bayrou holds considerable influence behind the scenes in parliament but would hardly embody the renewal Macron has promised.

Bayrou is not popular among the right, who blame him for Nicolas Sarkozy's defeat in the 2012 presidential campaign. Bayrou had publicly backed François Hollande.

Praised for her experience of the EU institutions, 52-year-old Goulard (pictured above to the right of Macron) is Member of the European Parliament for Bayrou's MoDem party.

Having organized Macron's visit to Berlin with German chancellor Angela Merkel on March 16th, Goulard was also Romano Prodi's advisor when he presided the European Commission. But Goulard lacks heavyweight parliamentary experience in France and is unknown to most French people.

The 46 year old MP and mayor of Le Havre Edouard Philippe comes from the center right Republicans party.

Philippe is close to centrist Alain Juppé, the former presidential candidate who was defeated in the right wing primary.

The lawmaker briefly joined the Socialist Party when he was a young man before jumping ship to the Republicans party when it was called the UMP.

Philippe is fairly new in politics having only been an MP for one term but is he heavyweight enough to lead a government?

READ ALSO: Macron picks Edouard Philippe as his new Prime Minister

The current 69-year-old Minister for Defence in Hollande's Socialist government is liked and respected by both those on the right and the left.

He is a heavyweight and has experience of being in government which Macron could well need. Le Drian made his support clear for Emmanuel Macron very early in the campaign.

His opponents argue that his age and his closeness to Hollande will go against the renewal that Macron has promised.

The MP for Finistère in Brittany Richard Ferrand, 54, is one of Macron's oldest and closest allies and became general secretary to En Marche.

Ferrand worked closely with Macron on the former minister's controversial reforms to free up sections of the economy, like the Sunday shopping rules.

Although loyal and an experienced MP, Ferrand's Socialist background and lack of visibility could prove a downside.

However Ferrand is someone "who has a will to lead a fight. He is someone who already has political experience, that's undeniable”, Macron told Le Parisien before his election.

The Republican's Xavier Bertrand, 52, is vastly experienced having served once as Minister for Health and twice as Minister of Labour.

He is also Mayor of Saint-Quentin and President of the regional council of the Hauts-de-France.

Bertrand could be a good pick for Macron as he comes from the right and is respected on the left and could signal the image of all-inclusiveness that Macron is after.

But it's unclear whether Bertrand would jump ship and he doesn't exactly symbolize renewal.

Centrist Anne-Marie Idrac, 65, is the former CEO of French rail chiefs SNCF and Paris transport authority RATP.

She has been a secretary of state in previous French governments under former PM's Alain Juppé and François Fillon.

Macron said during his campaign that he was very eager to name a woman as PM so given her experience in both civil and political life Idrac could fit the bill perfectly.

On the other hand, Idrac has little parliamentary experience and has been out of politics for many years.

Aged 66 Borloo, a lawyer and a former Minister for Ecology, comes from the right but retired from French politics three-years ago for medical reasons.

Borloo, who supported Sarkozy's 2012 Presidential campaign is on bad terms with François Bayrou, given Bayrou endorsed Hollande five years ago.

Borloo has said he would be ready to “help” Macron if he got elected.

And the others?

The other names circulating include Republican's Bruno Le Maire, who ran for the presidency and was defeated in the primary, Jean-Paul Delevoye, 70, a former minister under Jacques Chirac's and now an En Marche official, Bertrand Delanoe, a popular former Socialist mayor of Paris, former leader of the Medef business leaders union Laurence Parisot and the Socialist Mayor of Lyon Gérard Collomb.
François Bayrou drops out in an effort to boost Emmanuel Macron.