Francois Fillon scored a resounding win on Sunday’s conservative primaries garnering 66.5 percent of the votes, compared to rival Juppé who trailed behind with 33.2 percent.
As the new Conservative leader, Fillon is now the polls’ favourite to win the French general election in 2017, where he will run against far-right Marine Le Pen and the undecided Socialist candidate.
In his victory speech, Fillon said of his plans to overhaul the country in a way that it “hasn’t been for 30 years”.
Some of Fillon’s plans for France include cutting back social security, cutting taxes for the rich and loosen business regulations.
“I’ll do everything for entrepreneurs!” he has declared, promising to free up business and create jobs to tackle the 10 percent unemployment rate.
The new Conservative candidate also advocates a pro-Putin policy and hopes to work closely with Russia. He said Russia was no threat, and that European sanctions against Russia should be lifted. He also hasn’t ruled out working with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in the fight against the Islamic State.
He also, similarly to the far-right Le Pen, takes a hard line on Islam telling reporters that the religion must “accept what all the others have accepted in the past… that radicalism and provocation have no place here,”
“No, France is not a multicultural nation,” Fillon said during a TV debate, adding foreigners who come to France must assimilate. “When you come to someone’s house, by courtesy, you don’t take over.”
Fillon said over summer that he was in favour of the burkini – full body swimsuits – ban from French beaches.
Now that presidency candidates have been declared for both the National Front and Conservative parties, focus falls upon the Socialist party. The unpopular President Francois Hollande is expected to announce this week whether he will run again.