- Title: French vote to pick conservative candidate for president
- Date: 27th November 2016
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (NOVEMBER 27, 2016) (REUTERS) PEOPLE ENTERING VOTING STATION VOTER PICKING UP BALLOTS VOTER MAKING MANDATORY CONTRIBUTION OF 2 EUROS BALLOTS ON TABLE WITH NAMES OF CANDIDATES (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRANCOIS FILLON SUPPORTER, GONZAGUE, SAYING: "Both are very good candidates. I saw him (Fillon) in the debate ahead of the second round. We're picking between two good options, so you can go with who you like, who you feel the closest affinity to. I really appreciate the value of work, I've believed in it since I was little and that appeals to me, quite simply." VOTER PICKING UP BALLOTS AND ENTERING VOTING BOOTH VOTER IN VOTING BOOTH (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRANCOIS FILLON SUPPORTER, BETTY, SAYING: "Policies need to change. Things are not going well in France, people have had it so there needs to be something else, a change, someone who embodies change. Unfortunately it's true, we're all in a disastrous situation. This shouldn't be happening in France, we're going backwards and the purchasing power of the French people has really gone down. So yes I think we must change the policies now, so if he has an interesting programme, why not?" VOTER ENTERING VOTING BOOTH VOTERS CASTING THEIR BALLOTS BALLOTS IN BALLOT BOX VARIOUS OF VOTERS CASTING THEIR BALLOTS
- Embargoed: 12th December 2016 10:22
- Keywords: France primary conservative presidential election Fillon Juppe
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA0015A7XMPZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Many voters in Paris expressed their support for front runner Francois Fillon on Sunday (November 27) as they cast their ballots to determine the centre-right candidate for the 2017 presidential elections.
As polling stations opened in the second round of the conservative primaries, many said they believed former prime minister Fillon would be the best placed to turn France around.
"Both are very good candidates. I saw him (Fillon) in the debate ahead of the second round. We're picking between two good options, so you can go with who you like, who you feel the closest affinity to. I really appreciate the value of work, I've believed in it since I was little and that appeals to me, quite simply," said Gonzague, a fervent Fillon supporter.
Opinion polls show Fillon, a social conservative with a deep attachment to his Catholic roots, going into the race as the clear favourite after stunning his centrist challenger Alain Juppe with a massive surge in support just before the November 20 first round.
Scrambling to regain momentum, Juppe, 71, a soft-mannered moderate who is currently mayor of Bordeaux, has attacked the "brutality" of his rival's reform programme and says the Paris lawmaker lacks credibility.
But Fillon supporters such as Betty, who voted for Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round, said what France needed was big change, even if it was brutal.
"Things are not going well in France, people have had it so there needs to be something else, a change, someone who embodies change," she said.
Many French citizens view Sunday's primary contest as a proxy for next spring's presidential election.
Pollsters say the winner will be favourite to enter the Elysee palace, with the ruling Socialists in turmoil and the anti-establishment National Front historically disadvantaged by France's two-round system. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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