Juppé confirms he will not run for French presidency

Former French prime minister Alain Juppé confirmed on Monday he will not run for the presidency, despite suggestions that he would replace embattled Les Républicains candidate François Fillon.

“I am not in a position to unify the party. Therefore I confirm that I will not be a candidate for the presidency," Juppé said.

There were calls for Juppé to replace Fillon as the centre-right party's candidate after the latter became embroiled in a scandal over allegations he allegedly used public funds to pay members of his family for work they did not do.

Fillon had beaten Juppé in the party's primaries in January and was the favourite to become France's next president but has recently slipped behind centrist independent Emmanuel Macron and far-right Marine Le Pen in opinion polls.

Last week, Fillon vowed he will continue to run despite an official investigation into the 'fake jobs' scandal.

The news is a seen as a boon for Macron and his chances of making it to the final round and beating Le Pen for the presidency.