ISTANBUL — French President Emmanuel Macron has indicated that he has not completely ruled out returning to the presidency after completing his current term next year, despite constitutional limits preventing him from seeking an immediate third term.
Speaking to US magazine Variety, Macron said he would leave office next May and that French voters would choose his successor.
“Under our Constitution, you are entitled to two consecutive terms,” Macron said, while adding that he “doesn’t exclude anything” regarding a possible return to the presidency in the future.
Macron described such a comeback as unusual but suggested that circumstances could change over time.
The interview was recorded Sept. 7 during the Lumiere Summit in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in southern France and published Friday.
France’s Constitution prohibits a president from serving more than two consecutive terms. Macron was first elected in 2017 and won reelection in 2022, preventing him from running for another consecutive term in the 2027 election.
Macron will be 49 when he leaves office next year. Because French presidential terms last five years, he could potentially seek another mandate in his mid-50s if he decided to return to politics.
Former President Charles de Gaulle, by comparison, left office in 1969 at the age of 78 and died the following year.
Macron’s latest remarks differ from comments he made in April, when he said he had not been involved in politics before becoming president and would not pursue it after leaving office.
NEWS DESK
PRESS UPDATE