PARIS: Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy crashed out of the presidential election on Sunday, suffering a humiliating defeat in the first round of the rightwing primary.
Sarkozy was beaten into third place after a stunning upset by Francois Fillon, who served as his prime minister, with the veteran Alain Juppe finishing second.
The surprise result puts Fillon in a commanding position for next Sunday's second round of a contest that is widely expected to decide France's next leader.
With the French leftwing in disarray, the rightwing candidate is tipped to face -- and beat -- far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the presidential run-off next May.
But after a wave of populism saw British voters choose to leave the European Union and swept Donald Trump to the White House, no-one is writing off Le Pen's chances.
In a major upset, Fillon, a pro-business conservative, took more than 44 percent of the vote compared to around 28 percent for Juppe, a former prime minister and foreign minister. Sarkozy's hopes of winning back the presidency were crushed as he scored just 21 percent, according to near-complete results.
Sarkozy immediately endorsed Fillon and said he would now withdraw from political life.
"I fought for my beliefs with passion... I did not manage to convince the voters," he told supporters.
"I have great respect for Alain Juppe, but Francois Fillon's political choices are closer to mine," Sarkozy added.
Fillon, 62, pulled off a remarkable come-from-behind victory in the first round after trailing Sarkozy and Juppe in all but the final days of the two-month campaign.
Voters appear to have warmed to Fillon's understated style over the brashness of 61-year-old Sarkozy, who still deeply divides the country four years after being turfed out of office by the Socialist Francois Hollande.
Juppe, 71, was the early frontrunner but Fillon made stunning progress thanks largely to strong performances in three televised debates.
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