Bruno Retailleau Wins Les Républicains Backing for French Presidential Run

PARIS — French conservative leader Bruno Retailleau has been endorsed by members of his party, Les Républicains, to run in next year's already crowded race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron. Retailleau, who had already declared his intention to run in the presidential election, won his party's official backing after members were internally surveyed to determine whether they preferred to hold a primary to select a candidate, or back Les Républicains' leader outright. More than 73 percent of the party's members voted in favor of having Retailleau launch his campaign immediately. "A wind of hope is rising for our country," Retailleau posted on X after the results were published Sunday evening. Manfred Weber, president of the center-right European People's Party and leader of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, congratulated the candidate and said the "course has been set to unite the party and prepare for the future." Les Républicains, the historic home of French conservatism, has been locked out of power since 2012, when former President Nicolas Sarkozy lost his reelection bid to the Socialist François Hollande. Since then, the party has lost hundreds of elected officials and tens of thousands of party members. A former interior minister and hard-liner on topics such as immigration and policing, Retailleau saw his political star rise while serving in cabinet, but his popularity has declined since he exited the government. Recent polls for the first round of the French presidential election, which will take place in about a year, show Les Républicains' leader securing less than 10 percent of the vote. That figure puts him substantially behind both the far-right National Rally, which is polling above 30 percent, and his main center-right rival, former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, who is projected to receive more than 20 percent of the vote. Retailleau is hoping that his support among Les Républicains' members will give his campaign a much-needed boost to catch up with Philippe. But his candidacy has sparked doubts within his own camp, with several figures — including former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and parliamentary group leader Laurent Wauquiez — declining to rule out presidential bids of their own.