French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was voted the new leader of the centre-right Republicans (LR) party on Sunday, bolstering his chances ahead of a 2027 presidential election in which many believe he will run.
With just over 74% of the vote in an internal LR election, Retailleau comfortably beat Laurent Wauquiez, who leads the party in France's lower house of parliament.
Wauquiez caused outrage during the campaign with a proposal that migrants awaiting deportation should be shipped off to the remote French-controlled islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off Canada's coast.
Since becoming interior minister last year, Retailleau has sought to crack down on immigration and drug crime, but has struggled to show strong results on either front.