Macron defies French parties with pledge to field parliament candidates

By Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) - Independent presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron threw down a direct challenge to France's existing political parties on Thursday by announcing he would field candidates in all constituencies in June's parliamentary elections. Macron, a centrist whose rise in opinion polls is worrying leftwing and rightwing candidates in the presidential race, launched a call for applications online for all those who would like to run as a lawmaker under the colors of his young party. Elections to the lower house of parliament will come hard on the heels of the April and May presidential election and will be key to ensuring the next government has a majority to implement reforms in the euro zone's second-largest economy.

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