We knew that the ballot would be tight this Thursday afternoon when the results of the first round of the LR congress were announced.
It was a no-brainer.
The top four out of five candidates stand by three small percentage points.
And it is Eric Ciotti, the deputy for the Alpes-Maritimes, who leads the first round with 25.6% of the vote.
He is closely followed by the president of the Ile-de-France region Valérie Pécresse, who obtains 25% of the vote.
"It is with great happiness, immense joy that I welcome this victory that I hoped for, that I expected, with the certainty of responding to the request of the activists of our political family", declared the winner of the day at a press conference.
He believes he is the only one able to rally the right and beat Emmanuel Macron.
“I have never left you,” he continued, snubbing Valérie Pécresse who had left the party before returning to participate in the congress.
Still, his victory on Saturday could tense up more than one elected LR, because of his positioning very anchored to the right.
The mayor of Saint-Etienne Gaël Perdriau has already indicated that he would not support him in the event of victory.
Zemmour congratulates Ciotti
But Valérie Pécresse can already approach the second round with serenity.
For good reason, it only took a few minutes after the announcement of the results to see Xavier Bertrand, fourth on Thursday, give him his support.
“I thank the Les Républicains members who trusted me.
For the second round I will vote Valérie Pécresse and I call for the rally behind her, ”he tweeted.
On a more personal level, the president of the Hauts-de-France region has indicated that he will now devote himself to his community, announcing his decision to give up any national ambition.
I thank the members @lesRepublicains who trusted me.
For the second round I will vote @vpecresse and call for the rally behind her.
# CongressLR
- Xavier Bertrand (@xavierbertrand) December 2, 2021
He was quickly followed by Michel Barnier and Philippe Juvin.
The chief Brexit negotiator believes that the president of the Ile-de-France region "is the best prepared to win the presidential election".
The doctor spoke in the same way, praising "a woman who can lead the right to victory."
In a press conference organized at the end of the afternoon, Valérie Pécresse commented on her qualification in the second round.
"I feel carried by these French people who demand respect, truth and action (...) I carry a project of frank rupture of the right assumed because France has no more time to waste", she explains, calling in the stride the LR members to have the audacity "to choose a free woman".
It wasn't just Republicans who reacted to today's results.
Marine Le Pen has chosen to ironize the very marked division of LR members.
“I'm not sure it's great news for LR to see their members being so divided.
I also note that Mr. Ciotti comes in first which in reality demonstrates the revenge of the Wauquiez line ”, she commented.
Éric Ciotti's score literally delighted polemicist Éric Zemmour, who announced his candidacy the day before the opening of the LR congress.
“Happy, dear Eric, to see our ideas so widely shared by LR activists.
The RPR is not dead, ”he wrote on Twitter.
