Inside Story
France: A ‘Mr Nobody’ for president?
Francois Fillon is the Conservative party’s candidate for next year’s French election.
It has been a year of political upsets – Brexit, the FARC referendum in Colombia, US president-elect Donald Trump – and now France has joined the trend.
Former prime minister Francois Fillon was trailing rival Alain Juppe for much of the recent campaign for France’s Conservative presidential primary, only to end up winning by a considerable margin.
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Now he is expected to be up against National Front leader Marine Le Pen in the battle for the presidency next year.
Fillon, who has been called “Mr Nobody” in the past, says he represents change, and compares himself to Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.
Where is France headed?
Presenter: Dareen Abughaida
Guests:
Renaud Girard – chief foreign correspondent for the French newspaper Le Figaro
Nathalie Goulet – French senator
Nina Schick – European political analyst