Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has defeated his ex-boss Nicolas Sarkozy in a race to be the conservatives' nominee for next year's presidential election.

The result was unexpected to many. Until a week ago, Fillon trailed Alain Juppe, another ex-prime minister, and Sarkozy, the former president, badly in polls. He wasn't expected to go through to the second round of the primaries. And Sarkozy, who was long considered a safe bet for the second round, recognized the defeat.

Fillon will face Juppe in a run-off on November 27th. The run-off is likely to produce France's next president in May.