PARIS // French voters went to the polls on Sunday for the first round of a US-style primary to choose a right-wing candidate for next year's presidential elections, with former president Nicolas Sarkozy and ex-prime minister Alain Juppe facing a late challenge from an outsider.
A last-minute surge in the opinion polls by Francois Fillon, who was prime minister under Mr Sarkozy, showed he was in contention to grab one of the top two spots for next Sunday's run-off.
It is the first time the French right has held such a primary.
The outcome is crucial because with the French left divided, the conservative candidate who emerges is tipped to take the presidency in May after beating far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
Some voter surveys at the end of campaigning put Mr Fillon, 62, nearly level with Mr Sarkozy, 61, and Mr Juppe, the 71-year-old political veteran who had been the front-runner for the past two months.
Mr Juppe's strategy of playing the moderate against the fiery Mr Sarkozy and the reform-minded Mr Fillon appears to have backfired.
The vote is not restricted to right-wing voters.
An unknown factor is how many left-leaning supporters will take part after paying two euros (Dh7.80) and signing a declaration that they subscribe to "the values of the centre and the right".
One such Socialist Party voter, a sports teacher in his fifties who identified himself only as Eric, said on Sunday that he was voting "against Sarkozy".
"I'm fed up of that guy, he thinks he is all-powerful and he has been involved in too many scandals. Juppe, despite everything else, is the opposite," he said as he cast his vote in the Paris suburb of Pantin.
The three leading candidates have similar programmes, underpinned by pledges to reinforce domestic security in a country still under a state of emergency following militant attacks in France.
They also share a desire to reinforce European borders and reduce immigration, with the voters' choice ultimately coming down to style.
The nomination of the right-wing candidate on November 27 is expected to trigger an announcement from the current president, the Socialist Party's Francois Hollande, on whether he intends to bid for re-election. Mr Hollande has the lowest popularity ratings of any post-war French president.
* Agence France-Presse
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