2017 The Republicans (France) leadership election

A leadership election for the presidency of The Republicans (LR) was held on 10 December 2017, the first since the refoundation of the party in 2015, before which it was known as the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), and seventh overall including the UMP congresses.

2017 The Republicans leadership election
10 December 2017
Turnout42.46% Decrease15.64%
 
Nominee Laurent Wauquiez Florence Portelli Maël de Calan
Party LR LR LR
Popular vote 73,554 15,876 9,113
Percentage 74.64% 16.11% 9.25%
Vote percentage for Wauquiez by department
  <65%   65–70%   70–75%   75–80%   80–85%   >85%
President before election

Vacant

 Elected President

Laurent Wauquiez

The leadership election followed the 2017 presidential election, in which its candidate François Fillon, the party nominee after winning the 2016 presidential primary, was eliminated in the first round. The party suffered further losses in the subsequent legislative elections, and the appointment of several right-wing ministers to the government of newly elected president Emmanuel Macron led to a split between "constructive" personalities and hardliners within the party, culminating in the expulsion of six prominent supporters and members of the government from The Republicans.

With the presidency of the party officially vacant since Fillon won the primary in November 2016, the political bureau of the party scheduled a leadership election a leadership election for 10 December 2017, with a second round on 17 December if no candidate secured a majority of the vote in the first round.

In a single-round vote on 10 December 2017, Laurent Wauquiez was elected by a wide margin, securing 74.64% of votes with turnout of just under 100,000 members, with his opponents Florence Portelli and Maël de Calan posting only marginal scores. Wauquiez was the only major politician from the party to stand in the leadership election, which Xavier Bertrand and Valérie Pécresse declined to contest. Following the result, Bertrand, the president of the regional council of Hauts-de-France, announced his departure from the party, noting his disagreement with Wauquiez's hard-right line.

Background
See also: UDI, Agir and Independents group § Exclusion from The Republicans

On 30 May 2015, the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) was refounded as The Republicans (LR), an initiative of Nicolas Sarkozy preceding the 2016 presidential primary for the 2017 presidential election. Sarkozy presided over the party until 23 August 2016,[1] when he declared his candidacy in the presidential primary, after which Laurent Wauquiez was appointed as interim president and Éric Woerth as general secretary of the party in accordance with its statutes.[2] The presidency of the party became vacant on 29 November after the primary was won by François Fillon, who appointed Bernard Accoyer as general secretary and Wauquiez as 1st vice president.[3]

In the first round of the 2017 presidential election, Fillon suffered a historic defeat, with the right eliminated in the first round for the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic amid "Penelopegate".[4] In the subsequent legislative elections, the right suffered further losses, losing nearly a hundred deputies, its worst score in the history of the Fifth Republic.[5]

Following the election of Emmanuel Macron as president under the banner of En Marche! and the subsequent appointment of three right-wing personalities in prominent posts in the newly formed government – Édouard Philippe as Prime Minister, Bruno Le Maire as French Ministry for the Economy and Finance, and Gérald Darmanin as Minister of Public Action and Accounts – a parliamentary group including LR dissidents supportive of the government, "The Constructives", was formed in the National Assembly, separate from the existing LR group.[6] Many LR figures called for the exclusion of the three ministers as well as Sébastien Lecornu, Thierry Solère, and Franck Riester, from the party. On 11 July, Accoyer announced that a "special commission" would "collect the explanations" of the six, postponing the exclusion decision until the autumn.[7] On 24 October, Le Maire confirmed that he left The Republicans for La République En Marche.[8] Darmamin, Lecornu, Solère, and Riester were formally excluded by the political bureau of the party on 31 October; Philippe was not formally excluded due to juridicial reasons, though the party noted his departure.[9] On 25 November, Darmamin, Lecornu, and Solère announced they joined La République En Marche,[10] while Riester founded a new centre-right party, Agir.[11]

On 11 July, the political bureau of The Republicans agreed to hold a leadership election for the new president of the party on 10 and 17 December, with nominations closing on 11 October.[12] Voting was held for 24 hours starting from 20:00 CET on 9 December in order to allow members of the party to vote regardless of their location, and be held in the same manner a week later if a second round was necessary.[13]

Candidates

Candidates for the presidency of The Republicans were required to submit applications for their candidacies with sponsorships to the High Authority of the party by 11 October 2017. To be considered valid, applications required the sponsorship of at least 1% of party adherents (i.e., a minimum of 2,347) within at least 15 different departmental federations, without more than a fifth of sponsors originating from any single federation, in addition to at least 5% of LR parliamentarians in the deputies, senators, or MEPs (i.e., at least 13 parliamentarians). The list of official candidates was released by the High Authority on 26 October after the validation of sponsorships, marking the beginning of the official campaign, which ended at midnight on 8 December; in the event that a second round was needed, the official campaign would have continued from 11 to 15 December.[14]

Validated
Candidate name and age[lower-alpha 1] Political office(s) Details
Maël de Calan
(37)		 Maël de Calan Departmental councillor of Finistère
(since 2015)
Municipal councillor of Roscoff
(since 2014)		 The departmental councillor of Finistère,[15] president of the LR federation of Finistère,[16] municipal councillor of Roscoff,[17] and former spokesperson for Alain Juppé declared his candidacy on 5 September.[15][18] De Calan supported Juppé during the 2016 primary; European, liberal on the economy, and moderately conservative on societal issues, he represented the "moderate right" in the leadership election after the decisions of Xavier Bertrand and Valérie Pécresse not to run left open a political space on the centre-right.[19] He outmaneuvered Agnès Le Brun to secure the LR investiture in Finistère's 4th constituency for the 2017 legislative election,[20] but narrowly lost to La République En Marche! (REM) candidate Sandrine Le Feur in the second round.[21] With regard to "The Constructives", de Calan defended a nuanced position, claiming that they were simply no longer members of the party and warned against using a "sectarian" exclusion procedure.[22]
Florence Portelli
(39)		 Florence Portelli Mayor of Taverny
(since 2014)
Regional councillor of Île-de-France
(since 2015)		 The mayor of Taverny, regional councillor of Île-de-France,[23] national secretary for culture of The Republicans,[24] and former spokesman for François Fillon declared her candidacy on 29 August.[18][23] Having supported Fillon during the 2012 leadership election, she was selected as a spokesperson for his 2017 presidential campaign after being elected as a regional councillor of Île-de-France in the 2015 elections,[25] but chose not to attend his 5 March rally at the Trocadéro, disgusted by anti-judge and anti-journalist chants.[26] The daughter of senator Hugues Portelli, she militated "for the right to recover its pride", to "return to activists the place that they should have in the party", and "a refoundation, a democratized functioning, a radical change to statutes and clarification of the ideological line of the party".[25] She excluded any possibility of cooperating with the extreme right, argued for the need to "reinforce" immigration control, and supported the definitive exclusion of LR members of "The Constructives",[19] saying they had "excluded themselves", but invited those who hoped that its creation would propel the right to reform "to return to the fold," believing them mistaken.[25]
Laurent Wauquiez
(42)		 Laurent Wauquiez President of the regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
(since 2016)
1st vice president of The Republicans
(since 2015)
Other offices
 The president of the regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and 1st vice president of The Republicans declared his candidacy on 31 August.[2][18][27] Popular with the activist base of the party, Wauquiez's identitarian views echo those of Nicolas Sarkozy.[19] Despite being detested by many in the party leadership, Wauquiez's hard-right views,[28] emphasizing the themes of immigration, identity, and Islamism,[29] and appeals for a "right that is really right", gained him the backing of the party's supporters.[28] Though he repeatedly promised that he would not seek an alliance with the National Front (FN),[30] his refusal to support Emmanuel Macron against Marine Le Pen in the second round of the presidential election reinforced fears that he might lead the party into an alliance with the FN.[28] Wauquiez was further castigated for his relationship with Sens Commun – a political association linked to The Republicans related to La Manif Pour Tous, which spearheaded the opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage of France – with concerns about the group's openness to working with the FN and the extreme right.[31] Wauquiez denounced "The Constructives" as "traitors" who "have nothing left to do" in the party, but also hoped to unite the sensibilities of the right.[32]

Invalidated

Renounced
  • Envisaged candidacies
  • Candidacies announced but later aborted
  • Julien Aubert, deputy for Vaucluse's 5th constituency; declared candidacy on 3 September,[41] but renounced on 11 October after failing to secure enough sponsorships (claimed 13 parliamentarians and 2,211 adherents)[42]
  • Laurence Sailliet, member of the political bureau of the party; declared candidacy on 9 July,[43] but renounced on 9 October after failing to secure enough sponsorships (claimed 14 parliamentarians and 1,800 adherents)[44]

Opinion polling

Because the number of paying members of the party constitutes only a small proportion of the French population, no surveys have explicitly surveyed voting intentions. However, surveys have been conducted among all French, including supporters of The Republicans and the right and centre, on the candidate they would support in the leadership election.

Among LR supporters
Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size		 Laurent Wauquiez Florence Portelli Maël de Calan Daniel Fasquelle No response
Election 9–10 Dec 2017 – 74.64% 16.11% 9.25% – –
Odoxa 6–7 Dec 2017 113 62% 20% 14% – 4%
Odoxa 11–12 Oct 2017 133 78% 14% 2% 4% 2%
Among all French
Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size		 Laurent Wauquiez Florence Portelli Maël de Calan Daniel Fasquelle No response
Odoxa 6–7 Dec 2017 986 40% 32% 19% – 9%
Odoxa 11–12 Oct 2017 992 44% 29% 10% 7% 10%

Hypothetical polling
Among LR supporters
Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size		 François Baroin Xavier Bertrand Laurent Wauquiez Valérie Pécresse None of these
Harris Interactive 19 Jun 2017 – 48% 19% 10% 9% 14%
Among right/centre supporters
Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size		 François Baroin Xavier Bertrand Laurent Wauquiez Valérie Pécresse None of these
Harris Interactive 19 Jun 2017 – 40% 20% 13% 8% 19%
Among all French
Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size		 François Baroin Xavier Bertrand Laurent Wauquiez Valérie Pécresse None of these
Harris Interactive 19 Jun 2017 1,021 19% 15% 7% 6% 53%

Results
Candidate First round
Votes %
Laurent Wauquiez 73,554 74.64
Florence Portelli 15,876 16.11
Maël de Calan 9,113 9.25
Total 98,543 100.00
Valid votes 98,543 98.94
Blank votes 1,054 1.06
Turnout 99,597 42.46
Abstentions 134,959 57.54
Registered voters 234,556
Source: The Republicans

By department

Aftermath

On 11 December 2017, following the election of Laurent Wauquiez as president of the party, Xavier Bertrand, president of the regional council of Hauts-de-France, announced that he would "definitively quit" The Republicans. Appearing on France 2, he stated that he no longer recognized his party and therefore decided to leave it the evening of the election, having already been critical of Wauquiez's failure to clearly commit against the extreme-right and engagement with the FN.[45] Bertrand said that he did not intend to join or create a political party, adding that "my party is the Hauts-de-France region".[46] Wauquiez's victory was met with relative silence among political personalities of the moderate right, with no acknowledgement or congratulation to Valérie Pécresse and Christian Estrosi silent, and Alain Juppé merely noting that the election produced a "victory without surprise".[47] Prior to the election, Jean-Christophe Lagarde, president of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), stated that there would no longer be an alliance between the two parties in the case of a Wauquiez victory.[48]

On 13 December, Wauquiez unveiled his selections for the leadership of the party, with Virginie Calmels, Guillaume Peltier, and Damien Abad appointed as vice presidents, Annie Genevard appointed as secretary general, in addition to six deputy secretaries general and spokespersons. Wauquiez will meet with Pécresse later in the week.[49]

See also

Notes
  1. Age calculated as of the date of validation of candidacies on 26 October 2017
  2. "Other departments" lists the combined totals of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Wallis and Futuna, and French Polynesia for purposes of secrecy of votes cast by party members in those departments.

References
  1. Alexandre Lemarié; Matthieu Goar (30 May 2015). "Sarkozy met les Républicains en ordre de bataille pour 2017". Le Monde. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  2. "Les Républicains : Wauquiez remplace Sarkozy à la présidence". Le Parisien. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  3. "Les Républicains : Accoyer à la tête du parti, Wauquiez vice-président". Le Parisien. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  4. Olivier Beaumont (24 April 2017). "VIDEO. Une défaite historique pour François Fillon". Le Parisien. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  5. Marion Mourgue (18 June 2017). "Législatives : un revers historique pour Les Républicains". Le Figaro. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  6. Paul Chaulet (20 June 2017). "L'avenir incertain des députés LR "constructifs" à l'Assemblée nationale". L'Express. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  7. Matthieu Goar (12 July 2017). "Ni pardon ni exclusion : Les Républicains trouvent un compromis face aux pro-Macron". Le Monde. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  8. "Bruno Le Maire a adhéré à En Marche". Le Journal du Dimanche. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  9. Matthieu Goar (31 October 2017). "Le parti Les Républicains vote l'exclusion de personnalités pro-Macron issues de ses rangs". Le Monde. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  10. Christine Ollivier (25 November 2017). "Darmanin, Solère et Lecornu adhèrent à En Marche". Le Journal du Dimanche. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  11. Marion Mourgue (26 November 2017). ""Agir, la droite constructive", une nouvelle force politique à droite". Le Figaro. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  12. "Les Républicains éliront leur nouveau président en décembre 2017". RTL. Agence France-Presse. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  13. "Calendrier de l'élection à la présidence". Les Républicains. 8 September 2017. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  14. "Guide électoral 2017 de l'élection à la présidence de « les Républicains »" (PDF). Haute Autorité de les Républicains. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  15. "Maël de Calan, ancien porte-parole d'Alain Juppé, candidat à la présidence des Républicains". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  16. Pascal Pogam (17 May 2016). "Maël de Calan Président de la fédération LR du Finistère". Les Échos. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  17. "Perharidy. Les élus appellent à marcher et à écrire à la ministre". Ouest-France. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  18. Marion Mourgue (26 October 2017). "La candidature de Fasquelle à la présidence de LR invalidée". Le Figaro. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  19. Lucie Soullier (11 October 2017). "Présidence de LR : Wauquiez, Portelli et de Calan officiellement en lice". Le Monde. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  20. Amandine Réaux (12 January 2017). "Législatives : le juppéiste Maël de Calan finalement investi par LR contre la sarkozyste Agnès Le Brun". Europe 1. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  21. Stéphane Grammont (18 June 2017). "Sandrine Le Feur élue à Morlaix (4è) avec 52,14 % des voix". franceinfo. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  22. Christophe Forcari (11 October 2017). "Exclusion des Constructifs : le "sketch" continue". Libération. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  23. "Florence Portelli candidate à la présidence des Républicains". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  24. "Florence Portelli (LR) nommée secrétaire nationale à la culture". Le Parisien. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  25. Benjamin Pierret (30 August 2017). "Les Républicains : qui est Florence Portelli, candidate à la présidence du parti ?". RTL. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  26. Alexandre Sulzer (31 August 2017). "Florence Portelli, la filloniste qui veut voler de ses propres ailes". L'Express. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  27. Marion Mourgue (31 August 2017). "Laurent Wauquiez : "Pourquoi je suis candidat à la présidence des Républicains"". Le Figaro. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  28. Margaux Baralon (1 September 2017). "Le paradoxe Wauquiez ébranle la droite". Europe 1. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  29. Jason Wiels (26 October 2017). "Immigration, identité, islamisme... Laurent Wauquiez développe ses thèmes dans les Alpes-Maritimes". LCP. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  30. "Laurent Wauquiez candidat à la présidence des Républicains". L'Express. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  31. Christine Ollivier (15 October 2017). "Comment Sens commun, issu de la Manif pour tous, embarrasse Wauquiez". Le Journal du Dimanche. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  32. Vincent Michelon (1 October 2017). "VIDÉO - Pour Laurent Wauquiez, les Constructifs sont des "traîtres" qui "n'ont plus rien à faire" à LR". LCI. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  33. Emmanuel Magdelaine (18 June 2017). "Législatives- Pas-de-Calais (4ème) : Fasquelle (LR) devant Guilluy (LREM)". franceinfo. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  34. "Saint-Omer, capitale des Républicains du Pas-de-Calais". La Voix du Nord. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  35. Marie Zafimehy (28 August 2017). "Qui est Daniel Fasquelle, candidat à la présidence des Républicains ?". RTL. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  36. Tristan Quinault-Maupoil (26 August 2017). "Daniel Fasquelle candidat à la présidence des Républicains". Le Figaro. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  37. "Xavier Bertrand se retire de la course à la présidence des Républicains". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  38. Ariane Kujawski (28 September 2017). "Présidence LR: Roger Karoutchi renonce et parraine Laurent Wauquiez". BFM TV. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  39. "Valérie Pécresse ne se présentera pas à la présidence des Républicains". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  40. "Congrès des Républicains. Bruno Retailleau pourrait être candidat !". Ouest-France. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  41. Victor Dhollande-Monnier (3 September 2017). "Julien Aubert est candidat à la présidence de Les Républicains". Europe 1. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  42. Victor Dhollande-Monnier (11 October 2017). "Julien Aubert ne sera finalement pas candidat à la présidence de LR". Europe 1. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  43. Léa Stassinet (9 July 2017). "Qui est Laurence Sailliet, seule candidate déclarée à la présidence des Républicains ?". RTL. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  44. "Présidence LR: Laurence Sailliet n'aura pas les parrainages". Le Figaro. Agence France-Presse. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  45. "Xavier Bertrand, président de la région Hauts-de-France, quitte " définitivement " Les Républicains". Le Monde. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  46. Claire Gaveau (11 December 2017). "Xavier Bertrand annonce son départ du parti Les Républicains". RTL. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  47. Paul Chaulet (11 December 2017). "Élection de Wauquiez: la droite modérée entre silence et mise en garde". L'Express. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  48. "En cas d'élection de Wauquiez, Lagarde (UDI) ne veut " plus d'alliance " avec Les Républicains". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  49. Marion Mourgue (13 December 2017). "Wauquiez dévoile son équipe et un prochain rendez-vous avec Pécresse". Le Figaro. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
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