The 91,000 up-to-date LR activists are called to vote, by electronic voice, from this Saturday evening to designate their new president. Who to succeed Christian Jacob (after a few months of interim Annie Genevard)? Three candidates compete: two deputies (Éric Ciotti and Aurélien Pradié) and the boss of senators LR Bruno Retailleau. Portrait of three men with very different profiles.
Eric Ciotti
At 57, the deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes has long been considered the gun-bearer of the French right. Very firm on issues of immigration and security – he wants in particular to restore the right of blood and abolish the right to soil –, Éric Ciotti is presented by his opponents as the candidate of the division. His election would even cause “the implosion of the party”, say his detractors.
The elected representative of the Riviera came first in the first round of the right-wing primary last year and was the first to declare himself a candidate for this new internal election. As soon as his candidacy was announced, he stood out from his competitors by announcing that he wanted Laurent Wauquiez to wear the colors of the right for the next presidential election. The boss of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region has since returned the device to him, supporting him publicly. But this ticket for 2027 appears early for many activists. Eric Ciotti has never tried to hide his closeness to Eric Zemmour, but he surprised during this campaign by his moderation on certain subjects. Very quickly, during the controversy around deputy RN Grégoire de Fournas, he was one of those who denounced racist remarks when Bruno Retailleau in particular refused to condemn the far-right elected official.
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Bruno Retailleau
He is the intellectual of this election. Bruno Retailleau is the most conservative of the three candidates. Coming from the sovereigntist movement, he already has, at 62, a busy political career. Former vice-president of the MPF of Philippe de Villiers, the current senator from Vendée and president of the Les Républicains group in the Senate campaigned on the theme of rupture. Break in particular with Nicolas Sarkozy from whom he has clearly distanced himself. Close and still faithful to François Fillon, whose support he received, Bruno Retailleau assumes that he is on the fringes of a party that he wants to profoundly overhaul. Starting with his name.
His relatives accuse Aurélien Pradié and Éric Ciotti of having signed a non-aggression pact in this campaign to gang up on him. Despite his very right-wing positions – he notably wants to organize a referendum on immigration – Bruno Retailleau appears to be the most unifying candidate in this competition against two candidates deemed too divisive. Witness the support he enjoys: from the boss of the Senate Gérard Larcher to the boss of the European deputies LR François-Xavier Bellamy, via Othman Nasrou, a close friend of Valérie Pécresse.
Aurelien Pradie
He is both the youngest and the outsider of this election. Aurélien Pradié, 36, is the party’s current general secretary. It is the colt of Christian Jacob, the outgoing president. Supporter of a “popular” right, he quotes Jacques Chirac at length of public meetings and clashes with his positions on social issues (he is opposed to the postponement of the retirement age), societal (disability ) and environmental (access to drinking water). Aurélien Pradié, however, has largely righted his speech at the end of the campaign by proposing in particular the banning of the veil in public space, as Marine Le Pen had already done.
During the congress which nominated Valérie Pécresse as a presidential candidate last year, he supported Xavier Bertrand who reciprocated lip service a few days ago. Aurélien Pradié is also a style all his own. Direct according to his supporters, brutal according to his detractors, he does not only have friends within the party. ” Some say they will leave the party if Eric Ciotti is elected, but there will be more defections if Aurélien Pradié is elected “, predicts a historic LR executive.
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