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With over half of the votes counted Mr Fillon was beating rival Alain Juppé by a landslide margin of 68.4 per cent to 31.6 per cent, heralding a history defining clash with the far-right Front National. Mr Fillon was considered a rank outsider last month compared to the comparatively better known Mr Juppé, but has become just the latest politician this year to defy the pollsters and clinch an unlikely victory. The 62-year-old, a self-avowed Thatcherite, is a social conservative who is expected to park his tanks firmly on Ms Le Pen's front lawn on the issues of immigration and the perceived erosion of French identity.

GETTY Republican Fillon may pose a threat to Le Pen's momentum.

And with the ruling socialists never less popular than under beleagured Francois Hollande, all the indications are that French voters will be offered a choice between two right-wing candidates in next March's election. After his victory was announced Mr Fillon promised to roll back the nanny state and boost personal freedoms, roaring: “I must now convince the whole country our project is the only one that can lift us up.” Earlier, at a rally on Friday, he told 10,000 ecstatic supporters that “everything must change so that everything can remain the same” - a quote that may best explain the “tornado” of support he whipped up from nowhere.

At the rally, one supporter told the Telegraph: “Fillon defends the values of ‘la France profonde’: family, work, religion and freedom.” Another said: “We know we’re going to go through tough moments. When he takes these measures, there will undoubtedly be strikes, street protests, and it’s up to us to accept this and support him. “He mustn’t give in.” Public outrage at the relentless strike action taken by France’s trade unions and the resolute failure of outgoing French President Francois Hollande to solve the issue has bolstered a desire to break with the country’s socialist tradition.

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