Issued on: 18/04/2026 - 11:01

With the French presidential election just a year away, most parties are conducting internal polls to decide on their candidate. Les Républicains, led by Bruno Retailleau, are meeting this weekend to decide whether to hold a primary, amid criticism, particularly from Laurent Wauquiez, over reluctance to organise a vote. Andrew Smith, Historian of modern France at Queen Mary University of London, spoke to France 24 to to review the political landscape one year before this key vote.

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