France politics: François Fillon wins conservative presidential primary, pledges crackdown on immigration.
PARIS — François Fillon won France’s first conservative presidential primary Sunday after promising drastic freemarket reforms and a crackdown on immigration and Islamic extremism, beating a more moderate rival who had warned of encroaching populism.
“President! President!” chanted the former prime minister’s supporters as he declared victory over Alain Juppé in a nationwide runoff election.
Polls suggest the 62year-old Fillon, prime minister from 2007 to 2012 under ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy, would have a good chance of winning the French presidency in the April-May election.
Fillon campaigned on promises of slashing public spending, capping immigration, support for traditional family values and friendlier ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Fillon enjoyed a surprise surge in popularity in recent weeks over Juppé, 71, who also previously served as the country’s prime minister.
In a sober victory speech, Fillon promised to defend “French values” and said France needs “a complete change of software.”
“There is in our country an immense need for respect and pride. There is also a call for the authority of the state, and exemplary behavior by those who lead it,” he said.
Fillon struck a slightly more inclusive tone Sunday night. “No one should feel excluded from a society that I want to see more just and with more solidarity,” he said.
Based on results from about 88 percent of polling stations, organizers of the center-right Republicans party primary said Fillon led with 67 percent of the vote, compared with 3 percent for Juppé.
Fillon’s toughest challenge ahead is likely to be far-right leader Marine Le Pen. She is running an antiestablishment campaign that singles out immigrants, France’s large Muslim minority, and the European Union.
Socialist President François Hollande is expected to announce in the coming weeks whether he will seek re-election.