Russian media hail Fillon’s win in French presidential primary

Francois Fillon, who clinched the rightwing nomination for next year's French presidential election, is being praised by the Russian media. (AFP / JOEL SAGET)

MOSCOW: Russian media on Monday hailed the nomination of former French prime minister Francois Fillon, known for his pro-Russian stance in international politics, as the conservative candidate in next year’s presidential elections.
Fillon wants closer ties with the Kremlin and has called for the European Union to lift its sanctions on Moscow imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
He has become the frontrunner in the 2017 race for France’s presidency after securing the nomination of the conservative Republicans on Sunday with a resounding victory over his more moderate challenger Alain Juppe.
“François Fillon is the most pragmatic candidate in international politics,” said the official Russian news agency, Ria-Novosti.
“Fillon lived up to the expectations of the French people,” said Russia’s most popular Channel One.
NTV channel said Fillon, 62, who was prime minister from 2007-2012, “was able to gauge the moods of the silent majority” in rural France, “embodying traditional values” in voters’ eyes.
“Fillon is closer to the voters than Alain Juppe on several issues: the fight against the Islamic State, gay marriage, and Russia,” Alexei Pushkov, the member of Russian parliament’s upper chamber, wrote on Twitter.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave a neutral comment Monday, saying Moscow respects electoral processes in other countries and prefers not to interfere.
“Of course there are candidates with whom our president had the occasion to communicate more closely in recent years, and there are candidates with whom he spoke more rarely and whom he does not know as well,” Peskov said.
Fillon’s term as prime minister overlapped with Putin’s and their closeness led to questions about his foreign policy during the campaign, with Juppe calling him Putin’s “yes man.”