‘Coup de grâce’ – ‘It’s not what we’re talking about’: French president’s Twitter storm

LONDON, England — French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he has a “concrete plan” to remove his name from the French constitution if he loses a presidential election on Sunday.

Macron’s comments came in an interview with The Associated Press in which he defended his country’s decision to hold an emergency referendum in favor of keeping the name of the nation’s monarch, who is still alive.

“I have a concrete plan to take back the name,” Macron said in an audio recording released by the presidential office.

He did not elaborate on what that plan might be, and he did not immediately respond to questions from the AP.

Earlier in the week, the president announced that he had signed an emergency decree that allowed the National Assembly to dissolve itself and replace it with a new body.

A referendum on Macron’s proposed constitution would have been held in late June or early July.

The president is the third French leader to face a presidential defeat this year, following former Prime Minister Manuel Valls and centrist Francois Hollande.

The Socialist president is facing his most serious challenge in his young presidency, and has yet to win an outright majority in a national election scheduled for June.

The election will determine how much influence Macron has over the constitution, which will also determine who will run for president in 2018.