Rivals polluted by "big money", says French Socialist candidate Hamon

French Socialist party 2017 presidential candidate Benoit Hamon speaks during a news conference to present his election manifesto in Paris, France, March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

PARIS (Reuters) - Lagging well behind in opinion polls, French Socialist presidential candidate Benoit Hamon accused his main rivals on Thursday of being under the thumb of "big money" as he sought to revive a campaign eclipsed by party in-fighting.

Picked as the ruling Socialist party's nominee in January, Hamon has struggled to make any poll impact ahead the April/May vote after pushing a hard-left programme that has divided his party and split the left-wing vote with Communist-backed candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon.