Ex-EU Brexit negotiator Barnier to run in French presidential centre-right primary

Head of the Task Force for Relations with the UK, Michel Barnier speaks during the debate on EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement during the second day of a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium April 27, 2021. Olivier Hoslet/Pool via REUTERS

PARIS (Reuters) - Michel Barnier, the European Union's former Brexit negotiator, said on Thursday he would participate in his centre-right camp's probable primaries for next year's French presidential election, joining an already crowded field of candidates.

"In these dark times, I took the decision to run for the French presidency, to be president of a reconciled France", Barnier told TF1, France's most-watched TV channel.