Paris, Jan 23 (IANS) Former Education Minister Benoit Hamon and former Prime Minister Manuel Valls topped the list after the first round of the French Socialist Party primaries held on Sunday.

Hamon, with the left wing of the Socialist Party, so far has obtained 35 per cent of the votes doing especially well among young, urban voters, EFE news reported.

The more centrist Valls — well-known because of his stint as Prime Minister from 2014-2016 — obtained about 32 per cent votes, falling to second place against all predictions, with about 18 per cent going to former Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg, who was also one of the three favourites.

More than 7,500 polling stations collected votes in continental France and its overseas territories.

With none of the candidates exceeding 50 per cent of the votes in the first primary round, French voting rules mandate that the two top vote-getters face off in a run-off on January 29.

“By placing me in the lead, you sent a clear message of hope and renewal. You have expressed your desire to open a new page for the Left,” Xinhua news agency quoted Hamon as saying.

“We must finish with the old recipes, the old politics. I will continue to defend the priority given to the social issue, ecological conversion and democratic renewal,” he told his supporters.

Long trailing his rivals in opinion polls, the 49-year-old left-winger has seen his ratings unexpectedly start surging a few days ahead of the contest after three televised debates gave him impetus.

Hamon is likely to pass the Left primary runoff with a strong lead thanks to the backing of defeated candidates including Montebourg.

“Primary voters have spoken … They massively and seriously condemned the mandate (of the Socialist President Francois Hollande),” Xinhua news agency quoted Montebourg as saying after the release of the partial results.

“Next Sunday, I will vote Benot Hamon and I invite you to do the same,” Montebourg said.

Losing momentum, Valls said that for the second round, “nothing is written.”

“A new campaign begins this evening. A very clear choice is now for you and for us,” he said.

Dominating France’s political landscape for decades, the Socialists and the broader Left are weakened by internal upheavals that it has been hard for them to build momentum to take on the right-wing and the far right party.

No left-wing candidate is likely to pass to presidential runoff on May 7 after Hollande’s policies had alienated left voters, the country’s pollsters predicted.

The primary is the second such competition held by the Socialist Party and allies.

In 2011, the Socialist Party had opened a two-round contest to all registered voters regardless of their political views as long as they share the left-wing values and donate 1 euro (1.069 U.S. dollar). </s> PARIS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Benoit Hamon, a former Socialist education minister on the left of the party, led in the first round of a primary to pick a Socialist presidential candidate on Sunday, with more moderate ex-prime minister Manuel Valls in second place, partial results showed.

Hamon, 48, who was sacked under the government of President Francois Hollande for criticising his economic policies, had won 35.2 percent of the vote and Valls about 31 percent with just over a third of the total votes counted.

If the final count confirms this result, the two men will go face-to-face in a Jan. 29 runoff to decide who will be the Socialist candidate in the April-May presidential election. </s> French voters on Sunday were electing the Socialist candidate who will face a tough battle against rivals from the far-left, far-right and the political center in the presidential election this spring.

The Socialist primary runoff offered a stark choice between two candidates — Benoit Hamon and former Prime Minister Manuel Valls — on opposite poles of the beleaguered party, with sharply different plans for France.

With a headline-grabbing proposal to pay all French adults a modest monthly stipend, Hamon, 49, emerged from obscurity on the Socialist left to win the primary's first round against six other candidates last weekend.

Casting his ballot Sunday in Trappes, the blue-collar town west of Paris where he is the elected lawmaker, Hamon expressed hope for high voter participation. Voting in Evry, south of Paris, Valls echoed that call. The primary was open to all voters who paid 1 euro ($1.04) and signed a document saying they share the left's values.

A more robust turnout than the anemic 1.6 million votes cast in the first round of the primary would help bolster the legitimacy of the runoff winner entering a potentially bruising campaign.

In the sometimes testy primary campaign, Valls, 54, emphasized his experience in government. As prime minister from 2014 to 2016, he was on the front lines of France's response to gun and suicide-bomb attacks that killed 147 people in Paris in January and November 2015. He was also in office in July 2016 when a man drove a truck into crowds in Nice, killing 86 people.

Casting his ballot for Valls in a gymnasium two blocks from the presidential Elysee Palace, voter Jean-Pierre Abehassera said the ex-prime minister offered a stronger bulwark against militant Islam than Hamon. The 69-year-old web publisher lost a friend in the November 2015 attack on the Bataclan concert hall, where 90 died.

"The No. 1 problem is security," Abehassera said.

But Valls' close association with chronically unpopular President Francois Hollande, who isn't seeking a second five-year term, has made him vulnerable in a race against Hamon, who quit Hollande's government in 2014 amid infighting over economic policies.

Hamon, a former junior minister and briefly Valls' education minister, picked up backing from Arnaud Montebourg, another Socialist left-wing rebel who defied Hollande. The 290,000 votes the former economy minister received in the primary's first round were expected to help Hamon defeat Valls in the runoff.

Hamon's signature proposal is for a 750 euros ($800) "universal income" that would be gradually granted to all adults. Valls sharply criticized the idea as unrealistic and ruinous, both for France and the Socialist Party's credibility. Hamon also proposes legalizing cannabis and allowing medically assisted deaths.

Voting for the first time, student Maayane Pralus, 18, backed Hamon, saying: "He has a lot of the youth vote with him, which is sick of the old politics."

"People call him utopian, but that's the politics we've been waiting for," she said.

The presidential race was rocked this week by ethics questions faced by conservative candidate Francois Fillon, a former prime minister. Financial prosecutors are investigating an allegedly fake but handsomely paid job as a parliamentary aide held by this wife, Penelope.

She appeared at his side and was given a standing ovation during a boisterous rally in Paris on Sunday to bolster his troubled campaign, where supporters chanted her name and "Fillon, president!"

"Through Penelope they are trying to break me," he said. "I will never forgive those who chose to throw us to the wolves."

The first order of business for Sunday's winner will be trying to unite the Socialist family that has been torn for years between advocates of a radical left, including Hamon and Montebourg, and party members with center-left views, like Valls and Hollande.

"It's always been hard to unite the left," Hamon said as he voted.

Divisions are so deep that some of Valls' support is expected to shift to centrist Emmanuel Macron, running for president as an independent, if Hamon wins the Socialist ticket.

In such a complex political landscape, some voters cast ballots strategically. Bernard Biassette, 74, a retired bank worker, voted for Hamon only to eliminate Valls, whom he saw as a greater threat to his preferred presidential candidate — Macron.

Hamon "is throwing money out of the window," Biassette said. "He's not a serious candidate."

Early polling has suggested that the Socialist nominee will struggle to advance from the presidential election first-round in April to qualify for the runoff in May. Macron, Hollande's former economy minister, and fiery far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon are squeezing the Socialists from both sides.

But Fillon's legal problems have thrown a cloud of uncertainty over expectations of a two-horse race between him and far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

"I still think he is the best candidate for France, to help us get out of the crisis and reduce unemployment," said Laurence Benoist, who was among the 15,000 people Fillon said attended his rally.

Despite being "a bit surprised, a bit upset" by the allegations against Penelope Fillon, Benoist, 43, added: "I still believe he is sincere when he says he tells the truth about France's situation".

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Nadine Achoui-Lesage and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report. </s> Benoît Hamon and Manuel Valls on Sunday advanced to the second round of France’s left-wing primary, setting up a battle for who will represent the ruling Socialists in the upcoming presidential election, but also for the soul of their party.

Hamon, 49, delivered the latest unexpected turn to a presidential race already full of surprises when he finished a decisive first on Sunday evening. The one-time underdog claimed more than 36 percent of all votes cast in the first round of the primary organized by the Socialist Party, but that also included allied, micro-parties.

In one week, he will face off against Manuel Valls, a former prime minister who was long touted as the frontrunner of the primary, but who nevertheless managed to save face by winning around 31 percent support and make it into the run-off.

“Left-wing constituents voted with their hearts and have not given up,” Hamon, a former education minister and admirer of US Senator Bernie Sanders, said in a victory speech as his campaign’s headquarters in Paris.

His triumph at the ballot box was then sweetened by an endorsement by primary rival Arnaud Montebourg, who came in third place with around 18 percent of votes.

Speaking to supporters late on Sunday, Valls described the upcoming duel as a simple choice between “certain defeat” in the presidential election if Hamon is chosen, and “possible victory” if he is picked as the Socialist’s nominee.

Vincent Peillon, who came in fourth place with around 7 percent of votes, also addressed the press following the primary results, but refused to back either Hamon or Valls.

“Clearly this is going to be major choice for the Socialist Party,” said FRANCE 24 politics editor Marc Perelman, noting that Hamon and Valls represent extreme opposites within the political camp.

Valls, 54, has angered many left-wing sympathisers by championing pro-market economic policies alongside President François Hollande, while approving a state of emergency restricting civil liberties after a series of terrorist attacks.

Hamon and Montebourg are among a list of former ministers who quit Hollande’s government in protest over the pro-business turn.

Hamon – who supports implementing a universal basic income and shortening the work week from 35 to 32 hours – addressed this rift directly as he proclaimed victory on Sunday. “By putting me in the lead, you have sent a clear message of hope and renewal, the desire to write a new chapter for the left in France,” he said.

“Not that long ago Valls said that there were two lefts that could no longer be reconciled,” Perelman reminded. “But those two lefts will be face to face next Sunday. The question for Socialists is does the party go with Valls and towards the centre, or with Hamon and move to the left?”

Around 2 million people participated in Sunday’s left-wing primary, which was open to any eligible French voter or Socialist Party member who was willing to part with 1 euro.

While turnout might have exceeded the 1.5-million target set by Socialist Party organisers, it was still less than half of the 4.3 million people who cast ballots in France’s conservative primary in November.

Experts said it would prove difficult for either Hamon or Valls to pivot to the general election, after five years of Socialist rule marked by fears of rising immigration and by the failure to significantly lower unemployment.

“Tomorrow the Socialist Party chiefs are going to congratulate themselves on the great turnout, because no one would have predicted they would get that many voters just yesterday,” Cecile Alduy, an associate professor at Stanford University, told FRANCE 24.

“At the same time, 2 million people is not that much, and also it's people who are extremely politicised and on the left. Down the road, the Socialists are going to go against a much bigger electorate that is not going to be sensitive to the same kinds of arguments,” she added.

Indeed, polls show the mainstream left is not expected to perform well in France’s presidential and parliamentary elections this upcoming spring.

Whoever wins the left-wing primary is expected to finish in only fifth place in the race for the Elysée Palace.

Opinions polls reveal Hamon or Valls would lose to conservative nominee François Fillon, but also far-right leader Marine Le Pen, radical-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and independent centrist Emmanuel Macron.

“We must now amplify the movement… strengthen it even more,” Hamon said on Sunday, hoping the primary will help infuse what has been announced as a fated presidential campaign with fresh momentum.

He and Valls will face off in a last televised debate on Wednesday, before the second round poll on January 29. </s> PARIS, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called on Monday for a big turnout in the second round of the Socialist primaries after a first round vote made left-wing rival Benoit Hamon frontrunner to represent the party in this year's presidential election.

Opinion polls show that no Socialist is likely to win the presidency. They make conservative Francois Fillon the favourite, and put Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front in second place.

But they also show that a victory for Hamon in next Sunday's decisive Socialist primaries second round runoff against Valls could expose the centre ground to which Valls hopes to appeal, and thereby boost the presidential prospects of independent centrist Emmanuel Macron.

"To all those voters who believe in the Left, do not despair, mobilise," Valls said on RTL Radio. Late on Sunday he said the choice between Hamon and himself was one of "certain defeat and possible victory" in the presidential election.

Hamon, 48, a traditional leftwinger, was sacked from government by President Francois Hollande in 2014 for criticising his economic policies.

In Sunday's first round he coasted to a comfortable win ahead of Valls, 54, who represents the more business-friendly second half of Hollande's term in government.

"I think there is no chance for the left to win unless it can put forward a imaginative and powerful policy against a right that is full-on and an extreme right that is dangerous," Hamon said on France Inter radio.

Hamon won about 36 percent of the vote to Valls' 31, according to partial results. The former education minister also secured the backing of Arnaud Montebourg, another left-winger who came in third with 18 percent, and was therefore eliminated along with four other candidates.

The outcome of next Sunday's head-to-head vote remains uncertain though.

This year's primary is only the second in the history of the Socialist party and its allies. Anyone of voting age can participate, and the first-round turnout involved only between 1.6 and 1.7 million of France's 44 million-plus voters. (Reporting by Andrew Callus and Yann Le Guernigou; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) </s> Benoit Hamon, a former Socialist education minister on the left of the party, led in the first round of a primary to pick a Socialist presidential candidate on Sunday, with more moderate ex-prime minister Manuel Valls in second place, partial results showed. Hamon, 48, who was sacked under the government of President Francois Hollande for criticizing his economic policies, had won 35.2 percent of the vote and Valls about 31 percent with just over a third of the total votes counted.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters. </s> PARIS (Reuters) - Benoit Hamon, a former Socialist government rebel won the first round of a primary on Sunday and will meet ex-prime minister Manuel Valls in a runoff to decide who will be the candidate of the beleaguered left in a presidential election in spring.

Hamon, 48, a traditional leftwinger who was sacked from government by President Francois Hollande for criticizing his economic policies, coasted to a comfortable win ahead of Valls, a former Hollande loyalist in government, according to partial results.

With the field now whittled down from seven candidates to two and Valls and Hamon set to meet mid-week for what could be a testy televised debate, the final outcome was hard to predict.

But former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg, who trailed in third place, gave Hamon, a party ally on the left, an advantage by criticizing Valls’s pro-business policies and urging his supporters to vote for Hamon next Sunday.

Either way, opinion polls indicate that no Socialist candidate has much chance of getting beyond the first round of the election in April-May after five years of unpopular rule by Hollande.

The Socialist party, for decades one of the main political forces in France, has become marginalized as Hollande failed to bring high unemployment down and alienated left-wing voters with his economic policies.

But the Socialists’ final choice on January 29 could have an impact on the election fortunes of the front-runners for the Elysee - conservative Francois Fillon, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and popular independent Emmanuel Macron.

Polls indicate Fillon, a former prime minister who has The Republicans ticket, is most likely to win if he is pitted against National Front leader Le Pen in a May 7 head-to-head.

But Macron, a 39-year-old former banker and one-time economy minister who pushes a centrist agenda and tries to appeal to both left and Right is attracting large crowds to rallies and could yet upset the balance.

Manuel Valls, former French Prime Minister and candidate in the left's first-round presidential primaries, attends a political rally as he campaigns in Paris, France, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

CENTRE-GROUND BATTLE

The Spanish-born Valls, who implemented pro-business policies under Hollande to the consernation of the traditional left-wing, appeals to a more moderate electorate and will pose a greater challenge to Macron for the center ground.

Conversely, political commentators say a traditional Socialist such as Hamon, who wants to legalize cannabis and establish a basic state income level of 600 euros per month for all adults, will benefit Macron in his campaign.

“I can see the first bricks with which we can reconstruct the left and reunite the left and then also rebuild hope and share this with the people of France,” Hamon said in a short address to his supporters after the result.

Valls, 54, in combative mood, suggested that Hamon stood no chance of pulling off victory in spring and that he alone would be able to turn the tide against the odds.

“We face a choice now between certain defeat and possible victory, between unrealistic promises that cannot be financed and a credible left that can bear responsibilities,” Valls said, referring to Hamon’s proposal on basic income.

Partial results showed that with half the vote counted, Hamon had won 35.2 percent and Valls about 31 percent. Montebourg had about 18 percent.

Calling on his supporters to vote for Hamon next Sunday, Montebourg said: “Voters massively and seriously rejected those who carried out free-market, austerity policies during the presidential term.”

Hamon and Montebourg were kicked out of Valls’s government in 2014 for criticizing economic policies which they said were too business-friendly.

Slideshow (2 Images)

The program of Fillon, seen as the election front-runner, includes cutting business taxes, relaxing labor laws and scrapping the 35-hour working week in an attempt to boost growth, while also eliminating half a million public sector jobs as part of a drive to shrink the state sector.

Anyone who pledged allegiance to the political values of the left and paid a one euro fee were able to vote in the primary. Organizers of the primary said there had been a turnout close to two million. </s> Paris, Jan 22 (IANS) The first round of France’s Left primary kicked off on Sunday morning with the competition to be a three-horse race among former Prime Minister Manuel Valls and his main rivals Arnaund Montebourg and Benoit Hamon, both former ministers in his government in 2014.

About two million voters are expected to cast their ballots in 7,530 poll stations across the country from 9.00 to 19.00 (local time) to pick a presidential nominee, Xinhua news agency reported.

Valls, a centrist politician, who is seeking to attract middle ground voters, has been the polls’ favourite to snatch the left ticket. However, the race is tightening in its final days.

Montebourg and Hamon who quit the government to protest their pro-liberal policy, are gaining momentum days before the vote. The three leading candidates are almost neck-and-neck with the result remaining unpredictable.

A recent poll showed Valls coming the first in the first round with 32 per cent of the vote against Hamon’s 27 per cent and Montebourg’s 26 per cent.

Two of the seven contenders who will garner the highest vote in the first round will meet in a head-to-head context next Sunday.

Casting his ballot in Every, southeastern Paris, Valls called on the French people to massively turn to poll stations. “It is the French who must decide.”

Montebourg, a former economy minister, said before casting his ballot that he asked for a “strong mandate to be able to bring the Left together”.

Hamon, who’s gaining momentum unexpectedly, also called for a high turnout of voters, saying “if the turnout is high, it will give legitimacy to the one who will be elected”.

The Socialists and the broader Left, which has dominated France’s political landscape for decades, was weakened due to high unemployment and rising security concerns in the five years in power. </s> France's governing Socialist Party will choose Benoît Hamon or former prime minister, Manuel Valls as their presidential candidate after five other contenders were eliminated in the first primary.

Mr Hamon is fractionally ahead of Mr Valls - early results put Mr Hamon on around 35% of the vote with the former premier close behind on 32%.

Whoever wins the second round next Sunday will be unlikely to make it through to the second round of the presidential contest according to current polls which put the Socialist Party fifth.

Current polling suggests far right leader Marine Le Pen and the centre right's Francois Fillon will contest the presidency on 7 May.
Benoît Hamon wins the first round of voting and will now face runner-up former Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls in a second round run-off on January 29.