France's former prime minister Gabriel Attal said on Friday he would run for president next year, becoming the second prominent centrist to challenge the far right when Emmanuel Macron steps down.
"I can't take this kind of French politics anymore, where it's just 50 shades of managing decline," said the 37-year-old, who was France's youngest prime minister when he served in 2024.
"I have decided to run for president," he said in the southern village of Mur-de-Barrez.
The newest presidential candidate, an openly gay Parisian who leads the Renaissance party founded by Macron, is hoping to lead the centrist camp in the 2027 polls.
"Having travelled a lot in France and met many French people, I've come to a conviction -- a very strong one -- that our finest chapters are still ahead of us," he said.
