Aug 17 (Reuters) - French conservative presidential candidate Edouard Philippe has won the backing of government minister Gerald Darmanin for next year's election, Darmanin said in a newspaper interview published on Monday.
• Darmanin, who is France's justice minister and part of the conservative, right-wing political bloc, told regional paper La Voix du Nord that he was backing Philippe — rather than standing himself — "in the interests of the country".
• "We are in an extremely difficult situation, with many difficult social issues for French people. Therefore I have decided not to create any further divisions, so I will not stand myself for the presidential election. I will back, and I hope that others do likewise, Edouard Philippe for the presidential election," Darmanin told the newspaper.
• Philippe was President Emmanuel Macron's first prime minister, from May 2017 to July 2020, contending with the 'Yellow Vests' protests of 2018 and the COVID pandemic.
• Two opinion polls published in July suggested far-right leader Marine Le Pen could win next year's election despite an appeal court upholding a guilty verdict for embezzlement of EU funds.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta. Editing by Mark Potter)
