Majority of French voters want Socialist candidate Hamon to quit race: survey

More than half of French voters said Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon should drop his presidential bid in favor of left-winger rival Jean-Luc Melenchon, according to a poll on Thursday.

More than one out of two voters believed Hamon should quit the race to clear the path for Melenchon, a Harris Interactive poll showed.

Hamon won the left primary in January to represent the party in this year's presidential election. However, the ex-education minister failed to excite voters and is dividing the ruling Socialists' vote base, who are tempted by the independent contender Emmanuel Macron's bid.

In a further sign of Hamon's flagging campaign, many Socialist leaders, including ex-prime minister Manuel Valls, deserted his camp to join that of Macron to prevent the far-right from gaining power.

Dominating France's political landscape for decades, the Socialists and the broader Left are weakened by internal upheavals.

Polls suggest Macron is likely to qualify for May's run-off vote, which he is tipped to contest against the National Front's candidate Marine Le Pen. Endit