French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was voted the new leader of the centre-right Republicans (LR) party on Sunday, bolstering his chances ahead of a 2027 presidential election in which many believe he will run.
With just over 74% of the vote in an internal LR election, Retailleau comfortably beat Laurent Wauquiez, who leads the party in France's lower house of parliament.
Wauquiez caused outrage during the campaign with a proposal that migrants awaiting deportation should be shipped off to the remote French-controlled islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off Canada's coast.
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Since becoming interior minister last year, Retailleau has sought to crack down on immigration and drug crime, but has struggled to show strong results on either front.
The rise in popularity of Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) has contributed to a right-ward shift in French politics, and Retailleau's high-profile job and conservative views could make him a viable candidate for the 2027 election.
"Mr. Retailleau's rhetoric is a clear-cut theft of the National Rally," said RN spokesman Laurent Jacobelli. "If we look at his actions, however, there is a gap between rhetoric and reality."
Once a cornerstone of French politics, created by former President Nicolas Sarkozy as a continuation of fellow ex-president Jacques Chirac's party, LR is now a faded force with just 48 seats in parliament, far behind the RN's 123.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)