The favorite in the race for the Republican (LR) party leadership, Éric Ciotti, qualified for the runoff with 42.73 percent of the vote.

The right-wing deputy's hope of achieving an absolute majority in the first ballot was not fulfilled.

The LR parliamentary group leader in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, received 34.45 percent of the votes.

The two best-placed will then compete in the run-off election, the result of which will be announced next Sunday.

The youngest candidate, Aurélien Pradié, deputy for the Lot department, received 22.29 percent of the vote.

Voter turnout was 72.67 percent.

The number of members rose from 47,000 in the summer to 91,109 by the end of November.

Michael Wiegel

Political correspondent based in Paris.

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Journalists from the newspaper "Journal du dimanche" also managed to enroll two cats to take part in the elections.

The party executive is now considering bringing criminal proceedings against the journalists.

There was already a heated argument in last year's Republican primaries because the winner, Valérie Pécresse, also received a vote from a dog named Douglas.

The future chairman faces the task of repositioning the party after Pécress' heavy defeat in the presidential election with a result of 4.78 percent of the votes.

Pradié, who ran as a candidate for renewal, has not yet made a recommendation.

He is now being courted from all sides, which he commented with a wry tweet: "Only love my friends.

This political week is dedicated to love”.

Ciotti and Retailleau reject the advice of longtime party leader and former President Nicolas Sarkozy to support President Emmanuel Macron.

Retailleau said he will have "a clear right line".

The politician from the Vendée defines himself as a traditional Catholic and wants to prevent the right to have an abortion from gaining constitutional status.

Ciotti, on the other hand, advocates a tough line on immigration and security policies and has expressed sympathy for failed far-right presidential candidate Éric Zemmour.

The two men share the conviction that France is experiencing a "population exchange" ("grand replacement"), after which the locals would be displaced by immigrants from the Arab-Islamic cultural area.

Ciotti has announced his intention to cut the president of the regional council from Lyon, Laurent Wauquiez, as a candidate for the presidency as soon as possible.

Shortly before the membership vote, however, the National Treasury Prosecutor launched investigations into Ciotti's ex-wife Caroline Magne, who is said to have given Ciotti lucrative posts in Nice, in the National Assembly and in the Département.