Sarkozy seizes lead over Royal

Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy has seized a strong lead over Socialist Segolene Royal in the first round of France8217;s...

Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy has seized a strong lead over Socialist Segolene Royal in the first round of France8217;s presidential election and must now woo centrist voters if he is to win the run-off vote on May 6. With almost all ballots in Sunday8217;s voting counted, Sarkozy had 31.1 per cent, Royal 25.8 per cent, centrist Francois Bayrou 18.5 per cent and far-right head Jean-Marie Le Pen 10.5 per cent.

Four opinion polls late on Sunday showed Sarkozy, a former interior minister, looking set to win the run-off and dash Royal8217;s dream of becoming France8217;s first female president.

Jean-Louis Borloo, the popular labour minister who is backing Sarkozy, offered one option to win centrist backing.

8220;If Nicolas Sarkozy were president, I would think it would be necessary, vital, fortuitous that there be Union for French Democracy Union pour la Deacute;mocratie Franccedil;aise or UDF members massively present in the government,8221; Borloo told French radio, quickly adding it was up to Sarkozy and Bayrou to decide this.

Sarkozy, aiming to soften the 8220;tough cop8221; image that helped him siphon votes from the far right, struck a conciliatory tone before ecstatic party faithful soon after the polls closed.

Reaching out to the same centrist voters now up for grabs, Royal sought to stoke an undercurrent of concern about Sarkozy by saying she refused 8220;to cultivate fear8221; and opposed 8220;a France dominated by the law of the strongest or most brutal8221;.

8220;Among Francois Bayrou8217;s supporters there were men and women who wanted change, who even believed they would beat Sarkozy,8221; Francois Hollande, Socialist leader and Royal8217;s partner, told France 2 television.

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Apart from the two-horse campaign over the next two weeks between Sarkozy and Royal, who are due to hold a televised debate on May 2, all eyes will be on centrist leader Bayrou to see if he advises his voters to back either candidate.

8220;Bayrou will be the most sought-after politician in the next two weeks,8221; Europe 1 radio said. But Bayrou8217;s campaign director told Le Parisien newspaper: 8220;One thing is sure: We are not for sale!8221;

Both candidates were due on the campaign trail on Monday, with Sarkozy addressing a rally in Dijon in eastern France and Royal traveling to Valence in southern France.

A massive turnout on Sunday re-established the left-right split in France, five years after Le Pen shocked the country by coming second to President Chirac.

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However, Sarkozy cannot let up now, even after deflating the far-right vote. Leading the field in the first round does not guarantee ultimate success. Twice in the last five elections, in 1974 and 1995, the first-round winner lost the run-off.