The defeat was expected but the LR executives could never have imagined falling to the symbolic floor of 5% allowing the reimbursement of campaign expenses.

When the results were announced, a great groan ran through the public of elected officials and LR supporters gathered at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris.

"It's a personal and collective disappointment", assured Valérie Pécresse, who, recalling "(her) commitment against the extremes", immediately announced that she would vote "in conscience" for Emmanuel Macron in the second round.

This is the second time that the main right-wing party has failed to pass the first round of the presidential election.

In 2017, François Fillon won 20% of the vote in the first round, a stone's throw from Marine Le Pen.

It was then the worst score of a right-wing presidential candidate, but 15 points above that of Valérie Pécresse five years later.

Since then LR has experienced a new trauma with the score of François-Xavier Bellamy (8.5%) in the 2019 Europeans.

On Sunday, the party tumbled again, until it hit rock bottom.

Surprise winner of the LR primary in December, credited with 17-18% of the vote in January, Valérie Pécresse nevertheless appeared at the start of the year capable of qualifying for the second round, bringing the large right-wing family back to its party role. of government.

LR presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse at a meeting in Lyon, April 7, 2022 OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE AFP

But it has continued to decline since then, with successive levels: the failed meeting of February 13 at the Zenith which earned it a lot of ridicule, the war in Ukraine which made it suffer from a "flag effect", finally a useful voting reflex accelerating its decline at the end of the race...

"Renewal"

The reasons for the defeat were anticipated.

Nibbled on their right by Eric Zemmour, Les Républicains also suffered from the flight of the moderate electorate to Emmanuel Macron who was able to draw inspiration from the themes of the right.

Valérie Pécresse also suffered from the lack of support from Nicolas Sarkozy, widely interpreted as tacit support for Emmanuel Macron.

To this could be added, as Marine Le Pen rose in the polls, a reflex of "useful vote" which ended up deporting moderate voters to Emmanuel Macron.

But more deeply "we paid for a form of ideological non-renewal", affirmed Sunday the sovereignist deputy Julien Aubert, deploring "the wars of the past" which continued to play.

The approach of the second round risks completing the split of the party with the painful question of the voting instructions.

As of Sunday evening, LR deputy Eric Ciotti refused to give such instructions, believing that he did not "recognize himself" in the candidacy of Emmanuel Macron.

Conversely, his colleague Guillaume Larrivé called for a vote for the head of state.

The future also looks very complicated for the party.

"Today the LRs, by dint of wanting to be the center and the right, are threatened with being almost nothing", affirmed Mr. Aubert.

"The cowards will go one way or the other, let them go. It's up to the others to send a political message," said party secretary general Aurélien Pradié.

Very quickly the question of the legislative elections, on June 12 and 19, and the means of preserving the hundred seats held by the LRs will arise.

Some, such as deputy Guillaume Larrivé, pleaded at the end of March to "build a new majority" with Emmanuel Macron.

But others will never accept such a compromise, at the risk of radicalizing the party.

The LR strategic committee and the deputies will meet on Monday to discuss the aftermath.

© 2022 AFP