Paris (AFP)

LR had 94,951 members up to date with contributions on October 19.

By way of comparison, they were 79,181 on September 25, during the congress responsible for deciding on the mode of designation of the presidential candidate.

"For four years we had a very significant drop in the number of activists" but "at the end of the year there will probably be more than 100,000 activists inserted", welcomed the president of the party Christian Jacob Thursday on France 2.

"I think, yes" that Xavier Bertrand and Valérie Pécresse have already resumed their card, as they had announced last week, he added, saying "delighted".

"It's a very good thing that the family is together, it was not necessarily easy for them," he admitted.

Xavier Bertrand left LR in 2017 and Valérie Pécresse in 2019.

Geographically, the largest federation remains that of the Alpes-Maritimes (led by Eric Ciotti), with 7,165 members.

Then come the federation of Paris (5,777 members) and that of Bouches-du-Rhône (4,577) followed by Hauts-de-Seine (4,444 members).

Among the major federations we then find the Yvelines (3.226), the Rhône (3.220), the Var (2.500), the Seine-et-Marne (2.156) and the Gironde (2.111).

In the North, Xavier Bertrand's bastion, the federation has 2,097 members.

Savoie and Haute-Savoie, the geographical stronghold of Michel Barnier, have 811 and 923 respectively.

The number of members is an important element of the congress because some of the historical militants, who remained faithful to the party when it was at its lowest, could have a legitimist reflex.

Michel Barnier and Eric Ciotti regularly repeat that they have never left LR.

The candidates also insist on the need to join: "To participate in the congress on December 4 and appoint the right-wing candidate for the presidential election, you must be a member of the Republicans" recalls a banner on the home page of the "Nousfrance" site .fr ", which replaces the La Manufacture site of Xavier Bertrand.

"To vote Valérie Pécresse, I adhere to the Republicans", also urges the candidate's site with a link to a party membership form.

© 2021 AFP