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| Europe |
| Fillon and Juppé knock out Sarkozy in French primary |
| 2016-11-21 |
| Dark horse François Fillon and fellow former PM Alain Juppé won through to the second round of the French presidential primary on Sunday, knocking out Nicolas Sarkozy in the process. Results for France's right wing primary showed François Fillon as the victor in the first round of the primary for next year's French presidential election, with ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy suffering a crushing exit. Initial results suggested it was going to be a bad night for Sarkozy with Fillon enjoying a strong lead and Juppé in second place. As the results drifted in throughout Sunday evening it became clear Sarkozy's attempted comeback had ended in a humiliating way in the first round primary. He conceded defeat around 10pm. "I did not manage to convince the voters," Sarkozy said in a speech to supporters, before announcing he would give his support to François Fillon. "Those who voted for me are free to do what they choose," said Sarkozy. When the results are confirmed after all the votes have been counted it will mean that Fillon has pulled off a remarkable come-from-behind victory in the first round after trailing Sarkozy and Juppe in all but the final days of the two-month campaign. Fillon, described in France as a Thatcherite for the radical economic measures he proposes, had gathered 44 percent of the vote, with over three quarters of the polling stations having declared. Alain Juppé the pre-vote favourite had picked up 28.1 percent and Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president, gathered 21.1 percent. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 No Yankee carbon tax for you! Come back, 2 years, have your order ready. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2016-11-21 13:06 |
| #1 So now Sarkozy's free to keep banging other women. |
| Posted by: Raj 2016-11-21 00:39 |