法国总统大选保守党派初选前总理菲永领先

Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon appears to be on his way to winning Sunday's conservative party presidential primary.

Early returns give Fillon 44 percent of the vote, followed by ex-Prime Minister Alain Juppe with 28 percent and former President Nicolas Sarkozy with 21 percent. If those results hold up, Fillon and Juppe will meet in a runoff next Sunday and the winner will be the conservative candidate for president next year.

Sarkozy has already conceded defeat and says he will throw his support behind Fillon.

This is the first time conservative voters directly chose a presidential candidate. Until now, party leaders picked the contender. The campaign was marked by concerns about the influx of migrants into Europe and the devastating series of jihadist attacks in France.

After Britain's shock "Brexit" vote and Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential contest, the French presidential vote is taking shape to be another test between mainstream parties and rising populist forces.