The leader of the Republican deputies (LR), who was a favorite, won on Sunday in the first round with 62.58% of the vote against 21.28% Vaucluse sovereignty MP Julien Aubert and 16, 14% at most liberal Guillaume Larrivé, deputy of Yonne.

Participation was stronger than expected as 62,401 members of the day of their subscription voted, ie 47% of participation.

By way of comparison, in 2017, participation had reached 42.46% when Laurent Wauquiez was elected with nearly 75% of the votes. LR had 235,000 members, 100,000 more than today.

This mobilization should establish the legitimacy of Mr. Jacob, even if it is already established that he will not run for president in 2022.

"The Republicans will only resume their place as a popular and open right-wing party if they renew the promise of the rally," said Jacob. Opposed to the system of primaries, he has, since the seat of the party in Paris, called his political family to put "aside" the quarrels of ego.

Congratulating his competitors, Mr. Jacob assured that they would "obviously have their place on the management team" to come. "I will continue, within the Republicans and Dare France, to defend our values ​​for a patriotic, republican and social Right The adventure continues!", Reacted Mr. Aubert on Twitter, while Mr. Larrivé promised to continue "to draw a path, as a man free to defend (his) convictions".

A haemorrhage to stop

Mr. Jacob, 59, three times minister, and who claims his farmer past a "common sense peasant", will indeed rebuild a party, heir to the UMP, which has accumulated setbacks: defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential election of 2012, historical eviction of the second round to that of 2017, until the slap of 8.5% in the European May, which caused the resignation of Laurent Wauquiez and precipitated this internal election.

The new president will have to find a way in a reduced political space between the Republic on the march, which tackles regal themes markers of the right, and the far right, which is advocated rapprochement. Mr. Jacob promised a "project of alternation to macronism" around "some strong values", such as "restore the authority of the state", "fight against a form of disintegration of national cohesion and the poison of the communitarianism and uncontrolled immigration ", and" fight against the impoverishment of the middle classes and pensioners ".

For the party, the first meeting will be the municipal elections in March, "a moment of truth between lepenism and macronism on one side, and we on the other," added Mr. Jacob, promising that it would be "in clarity and without compromise, being proud of our values".

For LR, it is also necessary, at the approach of municipal, stop the bleeding that saw Valerie Pécresse and Xavier Bertrand leave. "Christian Jacob is the one who can, by his personality, by a certain wisdom but also a certain height of view, to convince Valérie Pécresse, Xavier Bertrand, people who have a lot of value, to return to work with us to rebuild the party", estimated before the close of the poll the mayor of Saint-Étienne, Gaël Perdriau.

It's urgent. On Sunday, former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he was "obviously" leaving LR. And Friday, it was the Senator Herault Jean-Pierre Grand who had slammed the door of the party.

With AFP