2024 legislative elections: with 67 deputies, the Republicans resist

Laurent Wauquiez fait partie des 67 députés LR élus. MAXPPP – Maxime JEGAT

Les LR s’en sortent mieux que prévu avec 67 députés élus grâce, en partie, aux désistements, et deviennent la quatrième force politique du pays loin derrière le trio de tête.

After arriving in fourth position with 10% of the vote last Sunday, the Republicans displayed small ambitions for this second round, hoping to save the furniture. This is largely done. With 67 seats, they obtained more than the 50 maximum predicted by the polls and added to the series of surprise results of this election evening, certainly helped by the hammering of “Ni-Ni” and reinforced by withdrawals. That of the candidate of the New Popular Front, Célline Gascon, benefited Laurent Wauquiez, elected in his Auvergne stronghold against the RN candidate Alexandre Heuzey. The president of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region wins in the first constituency of Haute-Loire with 61.61% of the votes.

Another victory, that of Aurélien Pradiéin the first district of Lot. The outgoing MP won in a triangular, with 53.7% of the votes, ahead of the candidate of the New Popular Front, Elsa Bougeard (23.26%) and the representative of the National Rally, Slavka Lihaylova (22.96%). %). Ditto for the outgoing deputy Olivier Marleix, who was nevertheless in difficulty in Eure-et-Loir, facing the National Rally candidate Olivier Dubois and who was re-elected with more than 57% of the votes, benefiting from the withdrawal of the New Popular Front candidate Nadia Faveris.

Success also for Annie Genevard, the interim president of LR, was re-elected in the 5th constituency of Doubs with 62.69% of the votes. vote against RN candidate Floriane Jeandenand (37.31%).

On the other hand, Francis Duboisdid not resist the strong candidacy of the former President of the Republic, François Hollande, elected with more than 43%. He comes in third position behind RN Maïtey Pouget.

An additional force but for whom ?

The fact remains that the Republican right has never been so poorly represented in the hemicycle of the National Assembly. It falls behind the leading trio: the New Popular Front (182 to 193 seats), Ensemble (157 to 163 seats) and the National Rally (136 to 144 seats). We are far from the glory years under the Sarkozy era, when in 2007 the party, which was still called the UMP, obtained the majority of seats in the second round. We are even further from a united political formation after the psychodrama of the rallying of their president Éric Ciotti to the RN.

Despite this situation, the LR “historical channel”, nevertheless remain the fourth political force in the country. A supplementary force on which the extreme right could count. Unless the Republicans are part of a central bloc imagined by Édouard Philippe which would go "from the social democratic left to the liberal and conservative right". An unlikely rally if we are to believe Laurent Wauquiez's post Sunday evening on X: "I can clearly see the temptation of negotiations, of combinations, to construct unnatural majorities. It will be without us. Our democracy has suffered too much from this. It’s this confusion and permanent vagueness that led to where she is today. The “at the same time” died this evening, and all those who would like to prolong it behind the voters' backs will be discredited tomorrow. France will only be able to rise again with clarity. For us, there will be no coalition, no compromise."

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