Ex-PM endorses Macron

France's former prime minister Manuel Valls endorsed the presidential bid of centrist Emmanuel Macron yesterday, the most high-profile Socialist to back the ex-banker over their party's nominee.

His support for Macron, which had been expected, is another boost for the reformist liberal, who left Valls's Socialist government last year to form his own political movement, which he says is "neither right nor left."

The first round of the election is on April 23, with Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen predicted to go through to the second round run-off on May 7.

Asked on French television if he would vote for the 39-year-old former economy minister, Valls said: "Yes, because I think you should not take any risks for the Republic. So, I will vote for Emmanuel Macron."

Valls's allusion to "risks for the Republic" was seen as a reference to a possible Le Pen win.

The former prime minister's decision to opt for Macron was a further blow for the struggling Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon.

Polls currently show Macron easily beating Le Pen in the second round, but after Britain's shock vote to quit the EU and Donald Trump's surprise election in the United States there remains significant potential for an upset.

Macron immediately thanked Valls for his support but said it did not mean the ex-premier would secure a top job in his administration if he won, saying he aimed to "renew the faces" in French politics.

Rivals are likely to pounce on Valls's thumbs-up as proof of their claim that Macron is a Trojan horse for centrists within the Socialist Party, represented by President Francois Hollande and Valls.

That faction lost out in January's Socialist primary, with left-winger Hamon storming past Valls to win the party's nomination on a tide of disaffection with the government's pro-business policies.