France’s ‘Iron Lady’ to stand for president
French Républicain candidate compares herself to Thatcher and Merkel but maintains she is a moderate
‘I am thinking of all the women in France today. I will give everything to triumph’
‘I understand the anger of a people who feel powerless against violence … and uncontrolled immigration’
VALÉRIE PÉCRESSE, who has likened herself to Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel, has won the primary race to become the French Républicains’ candidate, making her the first woman to represent the party at a presidential election.
Ms Pécresse, won 61 per cent of the vote in the second round of the primary race yesterday, beating the hard-Right candidate, Éric Ciotti, who said he “shares” most of the views of the Rightwing pundit Eric Zemmour.
Ms Pécresse, 54, head of the Île-deFrance regional council, which includes Paris, presented herself as the voice of moderation and billed herself as the only person who could unite the party, in a primary race that was dominated by issues of security and immigration.
She was widely seen as the favourite to win, after Xavier Bertrand and Michel Barnier, who were both eliminated on Wednesday, said they would support her over Mr Ciotti, a hard-line MP who had pledged a referendum to “stop mass immigration” and set up “a French Guantánamo Bay” to combat terrorism.
Mr Ciotti accepted defeat and immediately pledged to support Ms Pécresse.
The Républicains were the last of France’s main parties to choose a candidate, and Ms Pécresse is now the third woman representing one of France’s traditional parties in the presidential election, along with Marine Le Pen of the hard-Right National Rally and Anne Hidalgo, the socialist mayor of Paris.
“The party of General de Gaulle … our political family, will have a female candidate in the presidential election,” Ms Pécresse said in her victory speech.
“I am thinking of all the women in France today. I will give everything to triumph.”
Ms Pécresse, a former higher education and budget minister in the Sarkozy administration, has described herself as “two thirds Angela Merkel and onethird Margaret Thatcher”.
She vowed to “restore French pride” and “protect the French” with a programme that focuses on economic rigour and security. It includes harsher rules on nationality and welfare and sending the army into no-go zones in the banlieues, or suburbs.
She has also insisted on bureaucratic reforms: one of her priorities is to cut 200,000 state sector jobs while raising pay for the remainder.
Ms Pécresse will compete in the field of candidates looking to take on the incumbent centrist Emmanuel Macron, who is expected to announce his reelection bid soon.
Polls show Mr Macron is currently the favourite to win, but analysts said this could change now that the Républicains have chosen their candidate.
The stakes are high for France’s traditional Right-wing party, which failed to make the run-off in 2017 after its candidate François Fillon was felled by a graft scandal for which he was convicted.
“The Republican Right-wing is back. It will fight with implacable will,” said Ms Pécresse.
She added: “I understand the anger of a people who feel powerless against violence, Islamist separatism and uncontrolled immigration.” Mr Ciotti, who emerged with the most votes in the first round of the primary vote on Wednesday, reflected a section of the party that has shifted toward the far-Right.
Initially seen as a rank outsider, Mr Ciotti stood out for his views that echoed those of Mr Zemmour, who launched his own outsider bid for the presidency on Tuesday. Mr Ciotti said he would vote for Mr Zemmour in the event of a run-off against Mr Macron.
Ms Pécresse faces a struggle to beat the hard-Right rivals Mr Zemmour and Ms Le Pen. Polls predict a repeat of the 2017 election with Ms Le Pen in the second round against Mr Macron.
The Left is mired in disunity and struggling to present a candidate with a chance of getting to the second round. Anne Hidalgo and Yannick Jadot of the Greens are polling at 5 and 7.6 per cent, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of the farLeft, is polling at around 9 per cent.