Former French agriculture minister Bruno LeMaire has officially announced he will be running as a candidate to lead his party, the UMP. LeMaire, who served as agriculture minister under Nicolas Sarkozy until May this year, made official his intentions in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro.

The former agriculture minister stated in the interview that he had reached the 1,000 sponsorships needed to officialise his campaign. LeMaire said in his interview with the right-leaning Figaro that the French right wing is in a situation “unprecedented since 1958” wherein the centre right UMP has lost almost all its national and regional power.

The former minister will have his work cut out for him in upcoming elections where he faces former prime minister and current favourite Francois Fillon. Currently opinion polls show LeMaire trailing with just 2 per cent of UMP activists having expressed an intention to vote for him. Furthermore, he must now secure 7,924 sponsorships by 18 September in order to compete for leadership.    

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