France's Macron launches bid for second term as president

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday he would run for a second term in April's election, seeking a mandate to steer the euro zone's second-largest economy through the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Macron announced his bid in a letter published by several regional newspapers.

If he succeeds, he would be the first French leader for two decades to win a renewed term in office.