The French conservative Republican Party has elected Éric Ciotti, one of the most radical elements of the party, as its new leader in a new effort to try to recover from its catastrophic result in the presidential elections, where its candidate, Valérie Pécresse, obtained 4.7 percent of the votes.
Ciotti, deputy for the southeastern region of the Alpes-Maritimes, has called for strong measures against immigration and criticized Islamic ideologies, even bringing his policies closer to far-right parties such as Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
The outcome of the Republican vote is important for French President Emmanuel Macron because his government lacks an absolute majority in the National Assembly, making it dependent on the support of the opposition.
Ciotti, known as «Monsieur Security» has defeated with almost 54 percent of the votes the liberal-conservative senator Bruno Retailleau, who took 46.3 percent of the ballots in the second round, marked by 69.75 percent turnout (compared to 72 percent in the first round), reports ‘Le Figaro’.
