France's Fillon concedes defeat, endorses Macron

France's conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon conceded defeat in the first round of the vote today, endorsing centrist rival Emmanuel Macron in the May runoff against the far right's Marine Le Pen.

Alluding to the fake jobs scandal that dogged his campaign, Fillon, once the frontrunner in the race, said he had faced obstacles that were "too numerous, too cruel".

Declaring he would vote for Macron, Fillon said there was "no other option but to vote against the far right".