France's Macron announces bid for presidential re-election

File photo taken on Dec. 10, 2021 shows French President Emmanuel Macron greeting German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not in picture) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France. French President Emmanuel Macron

PARIS, March 3 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron officially announced on Thursday that he would run for a second term in office in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for April.

In a letter addressed to the French people, Macron described the different reforms of the government and the challenges faced by the country. "All of this has allowed us to be credible and to convince our main neighbors to start building a powerful Europe."

"This is why I request your trust for a new term as President of the Republic. I am a candidate to invent with you, in the face of the challenges of the century, a singular French and European response," he wrote.

Speaking of his goals for a possible second term, Macron said that he would try to make France "become a great ecological nation that will be the first to exit its dependence on gas, petroleum and coal."

He also promised to continue to lower taxes.

Macron won France's presidential election runoff in 2017, beating his far-right rival Marine Le Pen. 

File photo taken on Nov. 11, 2021 shows French President Emmanuel Macron delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the 4th Paris Peace Forum at la Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, France. French President Emmanuel Macron officially announced on Thursday that he would run for a second term in office in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for April. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

File photo taken on Nov. 11, 2021 shows French President Emmanuel Macron arriving to attend the opening ceremony of the 4th Paris Peace Forum at la Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, France. French President Emmanuel Macron officially announced on Thursday that he would run for a second term in office in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for April. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

File photo taken on July 14, 2021 shows French President Emmanuel Macron attending the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France. French President Emmanuel Macron officially announced on Thursday that he would run for a second term in office in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for April. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

File photo taken on Nov. 11, 2021 shows French President Emmanuel Macron arriving to attend the opening ceremony of the 4th Paris Peace Forum at la Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, France. French President Emmanuel Macron officially announced on Thursday that he would run for a second term in office in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for April. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

File photo taken on Feb. 28, 2022 shows French President Emmanuel Macron waiting for guests at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France. French President Emmanuel Macron officially announced on Thursday that he would run for a second term in office in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for April. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)