Socialist rebel and ex-PM Valls head for runoff
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, 49, a traditional leftwinger who was sacked from government by President Francois Hollande for criticising 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 criticising Valls's pro-business policies and urging his supporters to vote for Hamon next Sunday.
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