Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who is seen as the left-wing candidate for the country’s presidential election this spring, trailed his rivals in polls after a televised debate on Sunday.
A poll of 1,053 people of mixed political views published soon after Sunday night's debate said 29 percent found former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg "more convincing" than Valls, who won 26 percent, according to Reuters.
A separate part of the poll, measuring sentiment only among left-wing voters, gave former education minister Benoit Hamon 30 percent of the vote compared to 28 percent for Valls.