WHO IS MONSIEUR FILLON????…
‘http://www.wsj.com/articles/francois-fillon-gets-edge-in-presidential-primary-with-conservative-platform-1479759131
François Fillon’s Focus on the Economy Resonates in French Presidential PrimaryFormer prime minister surprise winner against rivals stressing immigration, security.By William Horobin
On Sunday, voters in the first round of a presidential primary for center-right candidates defied pollsters’ predictions by throwing huge support behind Mr. Fillon and his establishment brand of fiscal and social conservatism. While immigration and French identity dominated coverage of the campaign, the results suggested Mr. Fillon tapped into a strong undertow of economic concerns.
In his surprising come-from-behind victory, Mr. Fillon won 44.1% of the vote, eliminating former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had campaigned on a platform of radical anti-immigration measures and tax cuts for households. Mr. Fillon will face the second-place finisher, Alain Juppé, who received 28.6% of the 4.13 million ballots cast, in a runoff on Sunday.
The winner will contest the presidential election in April and May for the center-right Republicans.
For much of the campaign, Messrs. Sarkozy and Juppé focused on nationalism, security, immigration and French identity, seeking to appeal to an electorate scarred by recent Islamist terror attacks.
Mr. Fillon, in contrast, pledged in the first order to repair the economy of France, where unemployment is stuck around 10% and public debt is nearing 100% of economic output.
His focus on traditional conservative economic and social policies resonated with his Republican party’s primary voters, while Mr. Juppé depended more on cross-party support from leftist voters seeking to block Mr. Sarkozy. According to a poll by Harris Interactive of 613 voters, only 6% of Mr. Fillon’s supporters were on the left, compared with 23% among Mr. Juppé’s. The primary turnout represents only a sliver of the French electorate, however, making it hard to treat the result as a barometer for the coming general election.
‘I’m the one proposing the most coherent, the most radical the solutions.’
Mr. Fillon has also set himself apart by calling for detente with President Vladimir Putin of Russia to better fight against Islamic State. He has indicated he favors cooler relations with the U.S., saying Europe shouldn’t be Washington’s “vassal.”
A member of France’s political elite, Mr. Fillon, an automobile and mountaineering enthusiast with a stately home in the country’s west, served as prime minister from 2007 to 2012 under Mr. Sarkozy. He has long warned that the French government was on the verge of bankruptcy from overspending.
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