In a video, he said he had failed to unite his candidacy in a joint program with other candidates from the left-wing camp.
With Montebourg withdrawing, the splintered left-wing camp still has five candidates for the French presidency. The best known and biggest contenders from left field are Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Yannick Jadot and Anne Hidalgo. In polls, they get between four and nine percent of the vote.