Socialist outsider eyes poll-defying win of French presidential ticket

French politician Benoit Hamon unveils his election platform to the media ahead of the left's presidential primaries in Paris, France, January 6, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

PARIS (Reuters) - A French socialist outsider who wants to legalise cannabis and give all adults welfare payments of 600 euros a month has jumped into the political spotlight after a poll showed a surge in his support two weeks before a presidential primary.

Benoit Hamon, an admirer of U.S. left-winger Bernie Sanders, is currently ranked a distant third by most pollsters in the race to run for president in the name of the Socialist Party.