In France, former Prime Minister Francois Fillon has won France’s Conservative Presidential primary, beating rival Alain Juppe. In the first U.S.style primary contest for French Republicans, Fillon, won 68 percent of the vote against Juppe, another former Prime Minister.
He is likely to face a Socialist candidate and the far-right’s Marine Le Pen in next April’s election. During the campaign, ex-Prime Minister Fillon proposed economic reforms that include slashing 500,000 public jobs, ending the 35-hour week, raising the retirement age and scrapping the wealth tax.
The French presidential vote is being seen as a key test for mainstream political parties after the success of Donald Trump in the United States and the Brexit campaign in Britain, both of which took advantage of anti-elite and anti-establishment anger.