Since defeat in France’s presidential election and parliamentary elections this year, the country’s shattered centre-right opposition has fretted over how best to rebuild into a credible national force worthy of founder Charles de Gaulle.
Heirs to the conservative parties that produced most of France’s postwar presidents, Les Républicains flopped in April’s presidential poll, lost nearly half their seats in the National Assembly in June and are seeking new leadership.
One consolation, that President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance also fared badly and lost its legislative majority, is proving a mixed blessing. While it gives the conservatives leverage because Macron needs their votes to pass laws, it raises the risk that voters will come to see LR as a junior partner in a de facto coalition with an unpopular president.