Head Of France's Ile-de-France Region Announces Bid For 2022 Presidential Election

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2021) Valerie Pecresse, the conservative head of the Ile-de-France region that surrounds Paris, said on Thursday that she will join the 2022 presidential race as a candidate seeking to "restore the pride of France."

"I will be a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic to restore the pride of France. I can't stand talks instead of actions any more. We should say goodbye to the decade of wrong choice, half-measures, indecision, and, eventually, weakening of our country," Pecresse was quoted as saying by the Figaro newspaper.

The first round of the presidential vote is scheduled for April 10 and the second for April 24.

Among presidential hopefuls who have already announced their candidacies are Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party, Jean-Luc Melenchon of the leftist Unbowed France party, and Fabien Roussel of the French Communist Party.

Incumbent President Emmanuel Macron has not yet announced his intention to run for a second term. However, a number of polls show that the election is expected to be a Macron-Le Pen duel.