LIVE. The Republicans: Bruno Retailleau or Laurent Wauquiez, who will be elected party president?

By noon, the turnout was 63%. The consultation was conducted entirely online.

Laurent Wauquiez has pulled out all the stops during this campaign with very right-wing proposals such as the one on sending OQTFs to Saint Pierre and Miquelon . Elevating the ultra-conservative Italian Giorgia Meloni as a "role model for the right," he advocated for a rallying of the right, ranging from the Minister of Justice, the ex-LR Gérald Darmanin, to the Zemmourist MEP Sarah Knafo (excluding the RN and its allies).

Facing him, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau is taking responsibility for his decision to join the government of centrist François Bayrou to prevent the "Mélenchonized left" from coming to power. He also benefits from the leniency of Édouard Philippe, who has criticized Laurent Wauquiez's "small-minded Trumpism."

Party Secretary General Annie Genevard, who is also Minister of Agriculture, will announce the results at the Republicans' Paris headquarters around 7 p.m.

Although Bruno Retailleau is the favorite against Laurent Wauquiez, the voting method makes the result uncertain: the number of members practically tripled during the campaign, going from 43,859 to 121,617, without it being possible to determine who will benefit from these recruitments, carried out at full speed by the two candidates.

Hello everyone, welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the election of the president of the Les Républicains party.

Members, who began voting online late Saturday afternoon, have until 6 p.m. to choose the candidate who will fill the vacant position since former leader Éric Ciotti chose to ally himself with the RN nearly a year ago during the early legislative elections.

Facing them are two candidates: Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and the leader of the LR deputies, Laurent Wauquiez.