PARIS -- Valerie Pecresse, 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, Pecresse 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.
An experienced politician, Pecresse, 54, has been the minister for higher education, for the budget and was a government spokesperson under former President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2007-12.
"For the first time in history ... our political family will get a female candidate at the presidential election," Pecresse said, praising the "boldness" of party members who voted for her. "I will do my very best, with my force, my energy, my determination to make our views win."
"The right is back!" she said. "It is united and rejoins the [presidential] battle with an implacable will."
Pecresse said her first action as president would be to end France's 35-hour workweek so employees work and earn more. She also has backed a tough stance on immigration, saying that people who entered the country illegally should be deported.
A supporter of the European Union, Pecresse left The Republicans in 2019 amid leadership divisions after the party had a poor showing in EU elections. She rejoined the party this year.
The Republicans party, which still heads several regional assemblies and holds a majority in the French Senate, is the last of France's traditional parties to choose its presidential contender.