France to vote in presidential run-off ballot

Sun May 6, 2007 1:23AM BST

By Jon Boyle

PARIS (Reuters) - France votes on Sunday in a presidential run-off ballot that pits the right-wing son of a Hungarian immigrant against a Socialist bidding to become France's first woman president.

Combative former Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy was favourite to win after opinion surveys conducted on the eve of polling gave him a commanding 10-point lead over Segolene Royal, a regional leader and former schools minister.

Polling booths across mainland France open at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT), but about 1 million citizens in France's overseas territories and French residents in the Americas voted on Saturday in a move to encourage voter participation.

In total, some 44.5 million French voters are eligible to cast their ballot. Opinion polls giving an initial indication of the result are expected to be released straight after voting ends at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT).

Royal will need a political tsunami to sweep away her rival and win the Elysee but whoever triumphs, the election marks a generation shift as incumbent Jacques Chirac, 74, bows out after 12 years at the head of the euro zone's second-biggest economy.

Sunday's vote is the culmination of a fierce campaign in which Royal warned that her opponent would be a "dangerous choice" whose election could spark suburban riots. Sarkozy's camp said she was a gaffe-prone lightweight, a tax-and-spend Socialist unable to keep her cool.

The two have offered contrasting visions of France.

Royal combined left-wing economic policies and a consensual approach to social affairs in a "change without brutality" reform package.

Sarkozy campaigned for the "silent majority" of hard-working French people, vowing real change with reforms that would shake up a hidebound economy to foster growth, jobs and spending power and restore national identity.

He topped the first round vote on April 22 with 31.2 percent of the ballot against 25.9 percent for Royal. Turnout was almost a record at 84.5 percent.

WHAT FUTURE?

While Royal refused to concede defeat on the last day of campaigning before Saturday's "day of reflection", aides acknowledged she had a mountain to climb and many were already thinking about the Socialists' future should she lose.

"The Socialists are preparing to refashion themselves after May 6," the left-leaning Liberation daily said on Saturday, noting that Royal had opened the door to a new era of alliances with her assiduous courting of centrist voters.

Royal, 53, a relatively unknown figure, defied veteran party leaders to capture the presidential nomination last November on the back of polls showing she was best placed to beat Sarkozy.

Her calls for boot camps for young offenders and measured criticism of some hallowed party policies proved popular but a gaffe-strewn debut to her campaign underscored doubts about her competence to lead a major economy and nuclear power.

Sarkozy, 52, has worried moderates with his outspoken comments on crime and tough response to 2005 suburban riots, but has won new converts with his focus on traditional values, his reform plans and his demand that he be judged by results.