Centrists favour socialist Royal for French presidency
Centrist voters who hold the key to this weekend’s French presidential elections prefer Socialist Segolene Royal over conservative Nicolas Sarkozy - but not enough to cut into Mr Sarkozy’s lead, according to the latest poll.
With just five days left in the emotionally-charged campaign for a restless nation, both candidates have sought to woo the voters who handed centrist politician Francois Bayrou nearly seven million votes and a strong third place in the first round of voting on April 22.
Ms Royal, seeking to be France’s first woman president, courted the middle-ground vote in a televised debate with Mr Bayrou on Saturday aimed at stressing their similarities, and in a TV interview yesterday suggested she could offer him a prime minister’s job.
A poll by TNS-Sofres released today projected that 41% of Mr Bayrou’s voters would choose Ms Royal in Sunday’s runoff, compared to 32% for Mr Sarkozy. But the overall lead still went to Mr Sarkozy, with 52% to Ms Royal’s 48%. The last TNS-Sofres poll had them at 51%-49%.
Other polls show Ms Royal gaining in recent days, but Mr Sarkozy consistently claiming the lead that he has held since January.
