Benoit Hamon

The French Socialist Party sells its headquarters in Paris at auction, Parisian daily reported.

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon mentioned the issue of Kosovo when he spoke about Crimea joining Russia.

Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon picked up new backing on Feb. 23 in the rollercoaster French presidential race, as the nation's left aims to forge a united front with polls just months away.

Environmentalist Yannick Jadot dropped out and threw his support behind Hamon, while Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon said he was "open to discussion."

France's divided Socialists picked left-winger Benoit Hamon as their presidential nominee on Jan. 29, in the latest twist of a roller-coaster election race that has seen conservative frontrunner Francois Fillon engulfed in scandal.

Benoit Hamon, a former Socialist government rebel, won the first round of a primary on Jan. 22, and will meet ex-prime minister Manuel Valls in a runoff to decide who will be the candidate of the beleaguered left in a presidential election in spring. 

Primary elections of political parties continue in France three months before the presidential elections.

On Monday, the biggest surprise came from the Socialists camp. The winner in the first round of the elections turned out to be Benoît Hamon, former Education Minister at the beginning of the presidency of François Hollande.

Marine Le Pen has overtaken French presidential favourite François Fillon to become the frontrunner in the latest first round election poll.

The Front National leader is now polling at 26.5 per cent, a lead of 1.5 per cent over former Conservative Prime Minister Fillon.