Fillon triumphs to secure French presidential nomination

François Fillon romped to victory over Alain Juppé in the battle for the centre-right nomination in the French presidential race.

Fillon, whose policies have been described as Thatcherite, is now likely to take on the French National Front's Marine Le Pen in next year's election, with current president François Hollande unlikely to run due to his rock-bottom levels of popularity.

Former prime minister Fillon's win was highly convincing, taking around 66% of the votes in the primary race, compared with 34% of people who voted for Juppé. 4.5 million voters turned out to vote in the first primary of its kind in the country.

Fillon's win is another sign that France's voters are shifting further and further to the right, as much of his policies are centred around keeping the market resolutely free of regulation.

The emergence of Le Pen has cemented that notion further, and if she were to triumph next year another referendum on European Union membership is likely to be called.

"For three years, I have campaigned on my values," Fillon said after the win on Sunday. "France doesn't accept its fall, France wants freedom and action. The left is leading us to failure. The extreme right leads us to bankruptcy."

Juppé was ahead in the majority of polls until last week, and was widely expected to come out on top, but his defeat means he will now focus on being Mayor of Bordeaux.