from D.WELLE
Politics | 21.04.2007
Sarkozy Leads Race as French Overseas Voters Go to Polls
Voting started in overseas territories Saturday for France's hotly contested presidential election that heralds the transfer of power to a new generation of political leaders.
With right winger Nicolas Sarkozy still leading socialist Segolene Royal in final opinion polls before a campaign ban came into effect, all 12 candidates are nervously waiting to see how the millions of undecided voters cast their polls.
A day ahead of the vote in mainland France, the tiny islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off Canada's Atlantic coast -- home to just 5,000 registered voters -- kicked off the election in bright sunshine and freezing temperatures.
Citizens of Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guyana -- as well as expatriates across the Americas -- were to follow during the day.
In mainland France, official campaigning stopped at midnight Friday when a ban came into force preventing media from publishing opinion polls and statements from the 12 candidates. After a day meant for reflection, polling booths open at 8:00 am (0600 CET) Sunday and close 12 hours later when the first projections were due out.
Hot contest for second place
The last published surveys continued to show right-wing favorite Sarkozy in the lead. But the race for second place was hotly contested by socialist Segolene Royal, centrist Francois Bayrou and far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: At 78, Le Pen is the oldest contender
The two front-runners from the ballot qualify for a decisive second round on May 6 -- the system having been devised so that presidents are elected with more than half the vote.
The four leading contenders held their last rallies on Thursday, appealing to the third of the 44.5 million voters that pollsters say are still undecided.
For the last month polls have consistently given a clear first round lead to Sarkozy, a 52-year-old former interior minister who heads the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).
Royal, 53, has been in second place followed by Bayrou, 55, and the 78-year-old Le Pen -- but the gap separating them has varied widely and speculation has centered on who will join Sarkozy in the second round.
Tactical voters key
Speaking late Friday in the northwestern city of Rouen, Bayrou -- who heads the small Union for French Democracy (UDF) -- repeated his claim to be the only candidate capable of beating Sarkozy in the run-off.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Francois Bayrou
"This is very important, and very positive. It answers the question that all those undecided voters are asking: what is the most effective vote for ensuring things change," he said.
Royal, a former environment minister who wants to be France's first female president, would be under threat if large numbers of left-wing voters switched tactically to Bayrou in order to keep out Sarkozy, analysts said.
However, she stands to gain from memories of the 2002 vote when the Socialist candidate Lionel Jospin was beaten in round one by Le Pen. Failure to qualify for a second time for round two would be disastrous for the Socialist Party, and this may encourage left-wingers to stay with Royal.
New generation of politicians
France is choosing a successor to Jacques Chirac -- who has been president since 1995 -- in an election seen as one of the most exciting and important in recent times.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Segolene Royal
All three main candidates come from a younger generation of political leaders, and all claim to represent a radical break from the past. All also describe France as a country in crisis, thanks to massive debt, high unemployment, low income levels and simmering discord in the riot-hit suburbs.
In Sarkozy and Royal, voters face a clear choice between a right-wing program based on free-market ideas and a left-winger promising to safeguard the country's "social model."
Also running in the election are three Trotskyites, a Communist, a Green and anti-capitalist campaigner Jose Bove.
The other two are a hunters' rights candidate and the Catholic nationalist Philippe de Villiers.
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