The New Caledonia chapter of France's opposition UMP Party has endorsed the candidacy of Francois Fillon to become the party leader following this year's election loss of Nicolas Sarkozy.
The former prime minister's challenger is Jean-Francois Cope, who has been the party's secretary-general.
55 percent of New Caledonia's UMP supporters back Mr Fillon while in Wallis and Futuna, the party is overwhelmingly behind Mr Cope's leadership bid.
However, a survey within the party in France shows that 64 percent favour Mr Sarkozy as presidential candidate in 2017.
