Fragmented French left rebuffs Hidalgo's call for single presidential challenger

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - The Ballon d'Or Awards - Theatre du Chatelet, Paris, France - November 29, 2021 The Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo before the awards REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - French left-wing presidential hopefuls on Thursday rejected Socialist Party candidate Anne Hidalgo's call to unite behind a single challenger, an outcome that leaves the left fragmented and scant chance of winning the April election.

Hidalgo, who is also Paris mayor, warned a day earlier that if the left did not unite, it would "find it impossible to continue to exist in our country".