LR sets April 18th as the date to choose its presidential candidate

This time, the Republicans want a clean break. On April 18, the party will hold an internal consultation to designate its presidential candidate, a decision formalized by a vote of the political bureau on Tuesday. Behind the party's formal procedures lies a more complex reality: since the defeats of 2017 and 2022, the Republicans have been circling the same question like a pebble in their shoe—should they opt for a strictly partisan choice or broaden the scope to include the entire right wing? Bruno Retailleau, the party leader, is betting on a members' vote to end the dispute and give undeniable legitimacy to the future candidate, while also hoping to inject some much-needed political and financial fuel into the party.

A vote by party members, and absences that speak volumes

One detail, however, hung over the meeting: the absence of Laurent wauquiezDespite being invited, Bruno Retailleau was not informed beforehand, according to Le Figaro. That same morning on RTL radio, the leader of the Republican Right deputies had argued for a single right-wing candidate in 2027, "from Edouard Philippe to Sarah Knafo," and revived the idea of ​​a "grand primary," discussed within the working group led by Gerard Larcher and Senator Roger Karoutchi. While names circulate, from Valérie Pécresse to Jean-François Copé and David Lisnard, the question of voting rules—who is eligible to participate and under what conditions—is already threatening to reignite tensions within a party where method often passes for political line, against the backdrop of a competitive right wing that will let nothing slide between now and 2027.