Overview

• The Haute Autorité validated the candidacies of Laurent Wauquiez and Bruno Retailleau, publishing parrainage counts of 997 and 2,235, respectively.
• Wauquiez's team disputes the published figures, claiming they submitted 7,150 parrainages, while Retailleau's team accuses Wauquiez of inflating his numbers.
• A decision to publish election results by department, supported by Retailleau's team, has been criticized by Wauquiez's camp over concerns about cost and potential local tensions.
• Wauquiez's team announced they are suspending participation in Haute Autorité meetings, citing a lack of credibility and perceived bias in the body’s decisions.
• Both candidates are set to address the LR youth campus in Épinal as the party grapples with deepening divisions and questions about its internal governance.