French Socialists vote for presidential nominee

Socialist voters in France have gone to the polls in a nationwide primary to decide on their nominee who will contest the general election in April.

Six men and one women are taking part in the first round, including former Prime Minister Manuel Valls. The pair with the most votes will advance to a run-off on 29 January.

President Francois Hollande, whose approval rating has plummeted to record lows for the office, has decided not to see re-election.

Valls is seen as a leading contender, but faces stiff competition from former education minister Benoit Hamon, and former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg. The Socialists’ choice of nominee could determine the fate of popular independent candidate Emmanuel Macron, a former economy minister who appeals to the same moderate voters as Valls.

Opinion polls suggest that whoever wins the left-wing nomination will have little chance of reaching the final round of the presidential election in May. Instead, French voters are expected to choose between the conservative former Prime Minister Francois Fillon and Marine le Pen – leader of the far-right National Front.

Fillon, who has proposed slashing public sector jobs, cutting business taxes, relaxing labour law, and scrapping France’s 35-hour working week, is currently being seen as the frontrunner.