France's Republicans pick a woman as presidential candidate

Valérie Pécresse, the head the Paris region and a former conservative minister, has been chosen to run in France’s presidential race for The Republicans party

PARIS -- Valérie Pécresse, the head of the Paris region and a former conservative minister, has been chosen to run in France's presidential race next year as The Republicans party candidate, a decision that could significantly shape April’s election.

She received 61% of the votes in the party's primary while contender Eric Ciotti, a hardline lawmaker from Nice, got 39%. About 140,000 registered members of The Republicans were eligible to participate.

If elected by French voters, Pécresse vowed to “break” with the centrist policies of incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, who is expected to seek a second term but has yet to formally declare his candidacy. She also warned voters against backing far-right candidates, arguing that only the conservatives can unite the French people and ease tensions in the country.

Immigration and security emerged as top issues in the party primary largely because of another presidential candidate jumped into the race this week, far-right former TV pundit Eric Zemmour. Zemmour, an author and former journalist with multiple hate-speech convictions. He formally declared his candidacy in a video relaying anti-migrant, anti-Islam imagery.