Hard-right French MP tops Les Républicains party’s presidential primary

Eric Ciotti wants referendum to stop mass immigration' and set up a French Guantanamo bay'

A hard-right French MP who wants to hold a referendum to stop mass immigration" and set up a French Guantanamo bay" to deal with terrorism, has topped the first-round vote to choose a presidential candidate for the right's Les Republicains party, in a shock result.

Eric Ciotti, 56, a politician from Nice who is known for his hardline views on Islam and immigration, went from outsider to the surprise top position in Thursday's first-round vote by members of Nicolas Sarkozy's party. He now faces a second-round runoff against Valerie Pecresse, the former Sarkozy minister who wants to become France's first female president.