Ex-bullfighter, fighter pilot, maths ace on French President's ticket

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May 11, 2017 8:23 PM

A female bullfighter, a fighter pilot and a mathematician are among French president-elect Emmanuel Macron's picks to stand in upcoming parliamentary elections.

Former French bullfighter Marie Sara, one of president-elect Emmanuel Macron's 2017 legislative picks, waves to the crowd before retiring September 11, 1999

A female bullfighter, a fighter pilot and a mathematician are among French president-elect

Macron, 39, has vowed to inject new blood into France's jaded political system.

His La Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move) party presented a total of 428 candidates on Thursday. Here are some of the contenders:

Marie Sara, retired bullfighter

The 52-year-old retired blonde star of horseback bullfighting will take on far-right National Front lawmaker Gilbert Collard in what promises to be an exciting battle in the southern Gard constituency.

The Gard includes Nimes, one of the main bullfighting centres in France. The glamorous Sara, who is divorced from tennis ace Henri Leconte, raises corrida bulls.

"I am used to entering the arena, he's a good adversary. I'm running to prevent him being re-elected," she told AFP.

Marion Buchet, fighter pilot

Buchet, 35, was tapped to run in the eastern Meurthe-et-Moselle constituency. A fighter pilot for the past 15 years, she went back to university last year to study law at the Sorbonne.

Cedric Villani, mathematician

Villani, 43, won the Fields medal -- the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in mathematics -- in 2010. A dandy with long hair and a collection of floppy bow ties, he will stand in a suburban Paris district.

Villani signed a scientists' petition during the presidential run-off calling on the French to back Macron against far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

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