Macron says he is 'more sensitive' as he readies re-election bid

French President Emmanuel Macron, whose hopes of winning a second term face a growing challenge from the opposition, on Wednesday said he had learnt from the pandemic, which forced him to confront the challenges facing ordinary people with humility.

His sharp tongue and abrasive style, combined with a very top-down approach to power has upset many voters, and created viral moments that have cost Macron a lot in popularity.

"I have learnt (from the pandemic), and I am more sensitive to some things than I was before," Macron said, adding that it was clear French hospitals, for instance, needed help and should be reorganised.

While opinion polls had long shown Macron easily winning a second mandate, that now seems less clear, and he went out of his way on Wednesday to say he had learned from his mistakes - for instance when he abruptly told a young unemployed man he would find a job if he just crossed the street and asked.

"I have sometimes been very harsh," Macron said in an interview with TF1 and LCI TV channels. "I have realised that we can't change things without an infinite respect for each and everyone."

Cutting a wealth tax and taking other steps favourable to business, earned Macron - a former Rothschild investment banker - the label of "president of the rich" at the start of his mandate, something which he rejects. "My values are not those of a president of the rich," he said in the interview.

While Macron has not yet officially said he will run for a second term, he has de facto started campaigning.