The French socialist party has chosen Benoit Hamon as their candidate in the April presidential elections after he won a run-off vote.
The former education minister made ex-premier Manuel Valls conceded defeat in the Sunday night run-off. Hamon has won over 58 percent of the votes and Vall garnered 41 with 60 percent of the votes counted.
"Despite the differences, the forces of the left have never been so close in terms of ideas. Let's come together," said Hamon after winning. "Tonight, the Left holds its head up high, looks to the future and wants to win," he added.
Hamon is known for his proposal to pay all French adults a monthly income of 750 euros (800 dollars) and his pro-cannabis legalization stance.
“I believe that faced with a conservative right that represents privilege and a destructive extreme-right, our country needs a left that thinks of the world as it is, and not as it was, a left that can bring a future people want,” he added.
Polls show that the Socialists will probably not be winning in the elections, by putting Conservative Francois Fillon, right-wing Marine Le Pen, and centrist Emmanuel Macron in the lead.
Outgoing French President Francois Hollande, also a member of the Socialist party, has had a very low approval rating during his term.