Tag: Francois Fillon

• Wednesday, May 3rd 2017 - 05:46 UTC

  High abstention in the range of 25% threatens French presidential runoff

  

  Fears that a high abstention rate could help far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in France's presidential runoff strengthened on Tuesday when two-thirds of far-left supporters said they intend to abstain or cast a blank ballot. An internal survey of supporters of defeated far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon showed only 35% would back pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron, Le Pen's rival and the frontrunner.

• Wednesday, April 19th 2017 - 05:17 UTC

  French police foil “imminent and violent attack” ahead of Sunday's presidential election

  

  Two Frenchmen arrested in Marseille on Tuesday planned an “imminent and violent attack” ahead of the first round of the presidential election on Sunday, France's interior minister said. France's internal intelligence agency, which had been looking for the two suspects for more than a week, had warned main candidates in the election that there was a threat to their security, campaign officials said.

• Monday, March 6th 2017 - 18:45 UTC

  Fillon and Juppe confirm deep division among French conservatives

  

  Former presidential candidate Alain Juppe said on Monday he would not run again despite calls within the conservative Les Republicains party for him to replace the increasingly isolated Francois Fillon, who faces defeat over a phony jobs scandal.

• Friday, December 2nd 2016 - 09:33 UTC

  Hollande will not run for re-election; conservative Fillon calls it a lucid reaction “to failure”

  

  French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday he would not seek a second term in next year's presidential election, a surprise move that clears the way for an alternative left-wing candidate, most probably his prime minister Manuel Valls.

• Monday, November 28th 2016 - 07:16 UTC

  Fillon elected conservative candidate for French presidential election in 2017

  

  Francois Fillon, a socially conservative free-market, won France’s center-right presidential primaries on Sunday, setting up a likely showdown next year with far-right leader Marine Le Pen that the pollsters expect him to win. Fillon, who went into Sunday’s second-round run-off as firm favorite, had won over 67% of the vote in a head-to-head battle with another ex-prime minister, Alain Juppe.

• Friday, February 24th 2012 - 20:06 UTC

  French women say Mademoiselle is sexist so now it’s simply Madame or Monsieur

  

  Official French documents will no longer force women to reveal their marital status by requiring them to choose the title Mademoiselle or Madame.

• Friday, December 16th 2011 - 06:23 UTC

  French PM from Brazil admits new “jolts” can be expected in the Euro zone

  

  French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said his country is likely to face new “jolts” from the Euro zone debt crisis amid rumors it could lose its triple-A credit rating.