France will take the presidency of the Council of the European Union on
   Saturday and is aiming to make progress on many ambitious goals in the
   six-month term that will coincide with its presidential election.

   In a speech about the EU Council presidency early this month, French
--
--

   "Europe matters to Macron anyway. It would feature in the 2022 race,"
   Pignal said, referring to the French presidential election in April.

--

   Macron has not formally announced he is campaigning for reelection, but
   many expect him to do so in the coming days.

--
--
   Manon Aubry, a French member of the European Parliament, said France's
   EU presidency takes place in the midst of the French national
   elections. "Macron will instrumentalize it to support his electoral
   campaign," she said.