“Two-thirds Merkel, one-third Thatcher”: meet Valérie Pécresse

COULD THE French for the first time elect when they go to the polls next April? Ségolène Royal nearly got there as the Socialists’ candidate, in 2007, but was defeated by Nicolas Sarkozy. Ten years later Marine Le Pen, a populist-nationalist, was soundly beaten by the centrist Emmanuel Macron. Now the Gaullist political party is taking its turn. On December 4th the Republicans picked Valérie Pécresse, head of the Ile-de-France region around Paris, as their presidential candidate.In a run-off primary vote among party members, Ms Pécresse trounced Eric Ciotti, a deputy from Nice and an anti-immigration hardliner from the party’s right wing, securing 61% of the vote to his 39%. Days later Elabe, a polling group, recorded a leap for Ms Pécresse from fourth to second place, suggesting she could beat Mr Macron in a run-off. Nomination bumps are common, and other polls recorded a smaller one. But the former budget minister and fellow graduate of the elite École Nationale d’Administration suddenly looks like a credible challenger.