Macron gears up for poll

A short time after becoming France’s youngest ever president in 2017, Emmanuel Macron made a boast about his temperament that made clear he was expecting trouble while in office.

“I’m not made to lead in calm weather,” he said during a tour of the hurricane-hit French Caribbean island of Saint Martin in 2017. “My predecessor was, but I’m made for storms.”

The comment proved prophetic. Over his five years, some storms were expected while others – including the pandemic, the yellow vest riots and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – were thrust upon him.

Mr Macron (pictured) has thrown his hat in the ring for what could be another stormy term as president. The first round of the presidential vote will take place on April 10.

“We are at a time in the history of humanity when we have rarely seen such an accumulation of short-term crises,” he said in late 2020.

With European peace shattered, the situation has become substantially worse.