Screenshot of the discussion group zoom meeting.

Valérie Pécresse and Les Républicains

Dr Nicole McLean

Thursday 17th March 2022, 24 days until the first election round

Bonjour !

In mid-March, the Living The French Elections 2022 discussion group welcomed PhD candidate in political science at Sciences Po, Emilien HOUARD-VIAL. Emilien regularly writes articles for The Conversation in France and gave a presentation about the right-wing candidate Valérie Pécresse and Les Républicains party. 

Les Républicains party, which was founded by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2015, can be considered a mainstream right-wing party in France and an heir of the Gaullist party. Despite the party’s success in its initial years, recently it has experienced significant electoral decline. 

The party’s candidate in the presidential elections this year, Valérie Pécresse, faced many challenges in the electoral race. Les Républicains are weakly institutionalised and were trying to recycle old ideas such as those based on taxes, security and identity. Valérie, herself, succumbed to the trend of ‘droitisation’, translating to ‘rightisation’ in English, meaning a political movement to the right.

Valérie, who is a Parisian former Minister of High Education and Research, struggled to differentiate herself from other right-wing candidates. In one televised debate against far-right candidate Éric Zemmour, he pointed out that her arguments aligned directly with his despite Valérie’s fervent refusal.

However, perhaps the greatest problem Valérie encountered was within her own party, Les Républicains. There was a conflict between the party’s ideology and that of her own. This division of ideas led to two distinct approaches and visions for the party. With the first round complete, and Valérie receiving a mere 4.8% of votes, how can Les Républicains party overcome this ideological divide between party and candidate in the future?

Stay tuned for a full update on the results of the first election round in France.