Francois Fillon beats Sarkozy in the first round of primary with a shock 44% of the vote
And so it is decided. Francois Fillon, France’s mild-mannered, reflective former prime minister, will stand as the candidate for the centre-right in the 2017 French presidential elections.
Fillon’s meteoric rise from near obscurity to the probable future president of the republic is a timely reminder that predictions rarely ring true in politics – at least not in 2016. This is no anti-establishment figure, however. He has five years of leadership under his belt from serving as Nicolas Sarkozy’s lieutenant. But his candidacy has nevertheless stunned both supporters of Sarkozy and of Alain Juppé – the man many tipped as the favourite for the republican candidacy.
First, he took out Sarkozy in the first round of the primary with a shock 44% of the vote. Then he saw off Juppé in the second round, taking 66.5% of the vote to his rival’s 33.5%.
But Fillon now faces an uphill battle. He has won over his own party in the primary but must now convince the wider French electorate that he is the man to beat the Marine Le Pen in the presidential elections in April and May.
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