French Socialists tilt left, pick Hamon as election candidate

French leftwinger Benoit Hamon clinched the Socialist nomination to run for president, partial results showed Sunday, as a fresh scandal engulfed conservative election frontrunner Francois Fillon. Results from a Socialist primary runoff vote showed Hamon beating his centrist rival Manuel Valls with 58.65 percent of the vote in a clear victory for the traditional left-wing of the party. "Benoit Hamon won decisively," Valls said in a concession speech.