France Sets Date for Presidential Election

French voters will head to the polls on April 18 and May 2 next year to elect a new president. According to two government officials, President Emmanuel Macron's term will end on May 13, 2027.The reason for choosing these dates is that they are closer to the end of the president's second term on May 13. Other possible dates, April 11 and April 25, were not chosen.Since Macron is not eligible for a third term, many candidates are preparing to run for his position. These include former prime ministers Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, as well as Jean-Luc Melenchon.According to Western sources, whoever the National Front candidate is, they will be the strongest. However, the party cannot decide on its candidate until the court rules on the appeal of its leader, Marine Le Pen, who was convicted of embezzling EU funds and banned from running for public office for five years.