Ex-PM Juppe rules himself out of French presidency

Former prime minister Alain Juppe ruled himself out today as an alternative rightwing candidate for his party colleague Francois Fillon whose campaign has been thrown into chaos by a fake job scandal.

At a press conference in his hometown of Bordeaux, Juppe said that the election was being held in "confused" conditions but "I confirm for a final time that I will not be a candidate to be president of the republic."

He also criticised Fillon, whose defiance of the justice system and criticism of the media had "led him into a dead-end.