Nicolas Sarkozy has confirmed he will run for a second term in upcoming elections.
The French president confirmed his candidacy in an interview with the TF1 channel.
There are only 10 weeks before the election and Sarkozy is trailing Socialist candidate Francois Hollande in the polls.
Speaking on French TV, the incumbent said his decision had been “not automatic”.
"I took this decision because France, Europe and the world have for the last three years seen a series of unprecedented crises, which means that not seeking a new mandate from the French people would be abandoning my duties," he said.
Sarkozy added that he had the right policies to take the country forward over the next five years.
On the economy, he said: "There are still too many people unemployed but our reforms are beginning to have an effect," adding that he is "the captain of a boat in the heart of a storm".
However, a recent Harris survey indicated that Hollande would take the first round of voting by 28% to 24%.
In preparation for his campaign, Sarkozy recently joined micro-blogging site Twitter, and social network Facebook.