French President Emmanuel Macron said he plans to step away from politics after leaving office next year.
According to TF1 and other French media on April 24, Macron was asked about his political future a day earlier while meeting students at the French-Cypriot School in Nicosia, Cyprus. “I don’t have a career plan,” he said, adding, “I wasn’t in politics before I became president, and I won’t be afterward.”
Macron cannot run in the 2027 presidential election. France’s constitution sets the presidential term at five years and bars the same person from serving more than two consecutive terms. Macron was first elected in 2017 and won reelection in 2022.
In French political circles, speculation has persisted that Macron would try to maintain influence after leaving office, including by shaping the centrist camp and succession plans. Some observers have also suggested he could keep open the option of returning for the 2032 election.
Le Monde reported in July last year that Macron had made remarks that appeared to hint at a possible 2032 comeback. His latest comments appeared to distance him from that idea.
Macron also spoke about priorities for the remainder of his term. “After nine years, the hardest thing is to protect what you did well and keep moving forward, while also revisiting what you didn’t do well or didn’t explain well,” he said. “If you don’t take it up again and carry it through to the end, you’ll regret it too much.”
Before entering politics, Macron worked at Rothschild as an investment banker. Under President Francois Hollande, he served as deputy secretary-general at the Elysee Palace and as economy minister, and in 2016 he launched the centrist political movement En Marche.
The political environment late in Macron’s term remains difficult. Since the 2024 snap parliamentary election, France has lacked a clear majority in the National Assembly. The far-right National Rally (RN) and the left are expanding their bases ahead of the next presidential race, while competition over succession has intensified within Macron’s camp.
Some local political figures see Macron’s remarks as a signal he may retire from politics. Others note that former presidents have often retained influence without holding office, leaving Macron’s actions after 2027 an open question.
