Sarkozy pulls ahead with 54%
Monday, May 7, 2007
b>Media reports say conservative front-runner set to beat socialist Royal
CONSERVATIVE favourite Nicolas Sarkozy is on course to win France's presidential election run-off yesterday with between 53 and 54 per cent of the vote, Belgian media reported.
The RTBF public broadcasting station and the newspapers Le Soir and La Libre Belgique reported on their websites that unofficial estimates showed Sarkozy beating Socialist Segolene Royal comfortably.
French law bans the publication of any exit polls or projections in France until after the last polling stations close in big cities at 8pm (2am on Sunday in Brunei.)
La Libre Belgique daily and RTBF quoted several sources as saying Sarkozy was leading with 53 per cent more than two hours before the balloting ends in the main urban centres.
Le Soir, quoting sources close to the French Interior Ministry's political intelligence service (Renseignements Generaux) said Sarkozy had about 54 per cent of the vote.
Turnout was 75.1 per cent at 5pm , the Interior Ministry said, even higher than in the first round two weeks ago, when Sarkozy and Royal beat 10 other candidates.
Extra police moved into Paris and its high immigrant suburbs in case a Sarkozy victory sparks trouble, but there was more focus on the huge turnout for the deciding second round.
By noon, 34 per cent of France's 44.5 million eligible voters had cast ballots for a successor to President Jacques Chirac who is stepping down after 12 years in office.
This was the highest midday turnout since 1974 and underscored the strong interest in the left-right battle for the Elysee palace. The midday turnout was also up from 31.21 per cent in the April 22 first round, the interior ministry said.
Sarkozy, accompanied by his two step-daughters, voted in the chic Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, where he was greeted with cheers of "Nicolas president". His wife Cecilia was not present, however.
Royal said the choice for her "had not been difficult" after voting in the town of Melle in western France.
The choice between them is stark. Sarkozy, son of a Hungarian immigrant who has promised a "clean break" with the past, and Royal, the daughter of an army colonel seeking to become France's first woman president, has vowed to guard France's welfare state.
Sarkozy, 52, who has been leading in public opinion polls, says he wants to get France "back to work" and is proposing tax cuts and incentives to free up the labour market. He also supports tougher controls on immigration.
Royal, 53, is proposing to safeguard France's generous social protection, create jobs and carry out institutional reform to bring government closer to the people.
"Our hope is that this election will bring something new," said 78-year-old pensioner Jack London in the western city of Nantes. "We all recognise that we cannot go on this way."
The election marks a shift to a younger generation of leaders born after World War II, who are promising to tackle the huge national debt, high unemployment and simmering tensions in the suburbs.
Maria Dallais, a 52-year-old cleaning lady in the suburb of Suresnes, west of Paris, said she voted for Sarkozy "because we need radical change. People need to go back to work".
Royal has described Sarkozy as a "dangerous" leader who would divide rather than unite the French people.
AFP, Reuters
CONSERVATIVE favourite Nicolas Sarkozy is on course to win France's presidential election run-off yesterday with between 53 and 54 per cent of the vote, Belgian media reported.
The RTBF public broadcasting station and the newspapers Le Soir and La Libre Belgique reported on their websites that unofficial estimates showed Sarkozy beating Socialist Segolene Royal comfortably.
French law bans the publication of any exit polls or projections in France until after the last polling stations close in big cities at 8pm (2am on Sunday in Brunei.)
La Libre Belgique daily and RTBF quoted several sources as saying Sarkozy was leading with 53 per cent more than two hours before the balloting ends in the main urban centres.
Le Soir, quoting sources close to the French Interior Ministry's political intelligence service (Renseignements Generaux) said Sarkozy had about 54 per cent of the vote.
Turnout was 75.1 per cent at 5pm , the Interior Ministry said, even higher than in the first round two weeks ago, when Sarkozy and Royal beat 10 other candidates.
Extra police moved into Paris and its high immigrant suburbs in case a Sarkozy victory sparks trouble, but there was more focus on the huge turnout for the deciding second round.
By noon, 34 per cent of France's 44.5 million eligible voters had cast ballots for a successor to President Jacques Chirac who is stepping down after 12 years in office.
This was the highest midday turnout since 1974 and underscored the strong interest in the left-right battle for the Elysee palace. The midday turnout was also up from 31.21 per cent in the April 22 first round, the interior ministry said.
Sarkozy, accompanied by his two step-daughters, voted in the chic Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, where he was greeted with cheers of "Nicolas president". His wife Cecilia was not present, however.
Royal said the choice for her "had not been difficult" after voting in the town of Melle in western France.
The choice between them is stark. Sarkozy, son of a Hungarian immigrant who has promised a "clean break" with the past, and Royal, the daughter of an army colonel seeking to become France's first woman president, has vowed to guard France's welfare state.
Sarkozy, 52, who has been leading in public opinion polls, says he wants to get France "back to work" and is proposing tax cuts and incentives to free up the labour market. He also supports tougher controls on immigration.
Royal, 53, is proposing to safeguard France's generous social protection, create jobs and carry out institutional reform to bring government closer to the people.
"Our hope is that this election will bring something new," said 78-year-old pensioner Jack London in the western city of Nantes. "We all recognise that we cannot go on this way."
The election marks a shift to a younger generation of leaders born after World War II, who are promising to tackle the huge national debt, high unemployment and simmering tensions in the suburbs.
Maria Dallais, a 52-year-old cleaning lady in the suburb of Suresnes, west of Paris, said she voted for Sarkozy "because we need radical change. People need to go back to work".
Royal has described Sarkozy as a "dangerous" leader who would divide rather than unite the French people.
AFP, Reuters
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