Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has won the conservative presidential primary, beating rival and also former Prime Minister Alain Juppe.
Reports said Fillon, won 68 percent of the conservative vote against Juppe.
He is likely to face a Socialist candidate and the far-right's Marine Le Pen in next April's election.
Fillon has proposed economic reforms that include slashing 500,000 public jobs, ending the 35-hour week, raising the retirement age and scrapping the wealth tax.
The French presidential vote is being seen as a key test for mainstream political parties after the success of Donald Trump in the United States and the Brexit campaign in Britain, both of which took advantage of anti-elite and anti-establishment anger.
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