He made the announcement on Wednesday, with Uefa earlier confirming to CNN that Platini is ‘ready’ to enter the race.
However, previous candidates for the role of Fifa president have been quick to criticise him. Prince Ali bin Hussein, current Fifa vice-president for Asia, and a former candidate at the last election in May, said "Platini is not good for Fifa," AFP reported.
Platini, a 60-year old former French national team captain, is also a vice-president of a Fifa executive committee.
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His experience of both Fifa and of leading Uefa stands him in good stead for the top job.
And he has the backing of key football associations which vote to elect the president. Mexican FA chief Justino Compean said: "Platini has shown great sensitivity to football in the Americas and will have our support."
English FA chief Greg Dyke is believed to be a supporter -- though he'll need to persuade other Association members to back the Frenchman, according to The Sun.
Current Fifa president Sepp Blatter is standing down after a series of controversies surrounding the Qatari World Cup preparations.
Platini is a noted supporter of the controversial upcoming World Cup tornaments in Russia and Qatar.
The election is to be held at Fifa’s Zurich headquarters at an emergency congress.
Candidates have until 26 October to be nominated ahead of the election.