Socialist challenger

French Socialist Francois Hollande is set to challenge President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is from the center-right UMP party, in next year's election.

Martine Aubry, his opponent in Sunday's runoff round of the Socialist Party's primary to select a presidential candidate, conceded defeat before the final results were announced.

"As of tonight, Francois Hollande is our candidate…I will invest all my strength and energy to ensure that he [Hollande] is the president of France seven months from now," Aubry said in a short statement to her supporters.

With around two thirds of the ballots counted in Sunday's primary, Hollande had almost 57 percent of the votes, while Aubry trailed with just over 43 percent.

One-euro vote

The party estimates that around 2.7 million people voted in the primary, which was open to all eligible French voters who paid one euro ($1.40) for the privilege and agreed to sign a declaration supporting left-of-center values.

Four other candidates, including Segolene Royal, Hollande's former partner, who lost the 2007 election to Sarkozy, had thrown their hats into the ring for the candidacy. However, they were knocked out in the first round of the primary on October 9.

Hollande, 57, was the leader of the Socialist Party from 1997 to 2008, before being succeeded in that post by Aubry.

He had been seen as the frontrunner going into Sunday's runoff, after recent opinion polls indicated that he would have the best chance of unseating Sarkozy in the presidential election, to be held next April and May.

Author: Chuck Penfold (AFP, AP, dpa)
Editor: Nicole Goebel