Will he, won’t he? Bayrou to clarify presidential plans

Francois Bayrou, a centrist candidate in three past French presidential elections, is set to announce on Wednesday if he will run in this year's race for the Elysee, a move that could erode support for independent Emmanuel Macron.

President of the center right party Modem Francois Bayrou gives the closing speech of the mouvment's "Universites de rentrees", on September 25, 2016 in Guidel, western France. LOIC VENANCE / AFP

Opinion pollsters give Bayrou single figure percentages in the April 23 first round of voting, and therefore only a tiny chance of winning.
A Bayrou challenge would likely deal a blow to Macron, another centrist who is among the leaders, but whose campaign has lost momentum in recent days.

If the veteran politician decides not to run, both Macron and conservative Francois Fillon will hope to benefit in their close-fought contest for a place in the second round, almost certainly against far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Bayrou, a 65-year-old former education minister, has though already ruled out backing Fillon and could rally behind Macron.

Bayrou has said he will give his decision at around 1630 Paris time at the headquarters of his political movement MoDem in Paris.

Polls show Fillon, a former conservative prime minister, and Macron, an ex-investment banker and economy minister, battling neck-and-neck for second place in the April 23 first round of voting.

The latest survey on Wednesday showed little change in the pattern. Le Pen leads first round voting intentions with 26 percent of support, with Macron in second place on 22 percent slightly ahead of Fillon on 21 percent.

Either man would beat Le Pen in the second round - a trend confirmed by Wednesday's Opinionway poll - although she has been narrowing the deficit in recent surveys.

Both Le Pen and Fillon are embroiled in financial scandals.
Le Pen has denied allegations by OLAF, the European Union anti-fraud agency, that she gave parliamentary assistants fake jobs paid for out of EU funds.

French judges opened a fraud investigation on Dec. 15 after prosecutors handed the dossier over to them following a preliminary investigation of more than a year.