French right holds presidential primary

French voters went to the polls yesterday for the first round of a US-style primary to choose a rightwing 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 PM  under Sarkozy, showed he was in contention to grab one of the top two spots for next Sunday's runoff.