Ex-PM and Macron ally Edouard Philippe eyes French presidency

PARIS (Reuters) - Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who has been a key centrist ally of President Emmanuel Macron, said in a magazine interview published on Tuesday that he himself would seek to be elected as the next president in 2027.

"I will be a candidate at the next election," Philippe told Le Point magazine.

Macron, who has nearly three years before his second term ends, is not allowed to run for a third term under the French Constitution. He has been trying to find a new prime minister to form a new government since his decision in June to call a snap parliamentary election resulted in a hung parliament.

Philippe was Macron's first prime minister, having defected from the conservative Les Republicains party to join the president's team after the 2017 election.

His time in office saw him have to deal with the violent "Yellow Vests" street protests in 2018 and the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, shortly after which Philippe left as prime minister.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Sandra Maler)